Product Characteristics and Uses:

It is used as a hardening agent for alloys in the metallurgy, storage battery, and military industries, and is also a raw material for producing antimony trioxide.

• Appearance: Silvery-white,      lustrous.

• Physical Nature: The antimony      material is hard and brittle, easily crushed, lacking ductility and      malleability.

• Allotropes: Antimony exists in      three allotropic forms: yellow, grey, and black.

• Unique Property: It exhibits      the unique characteristic of expanding upon cooling and contracting when      heated.

• Amorphous Form: Amorphous      antimony is grey and can be obtained by the electrolysis of antimony      halides.

• Reactivity:

• It is not a highly reactive element.

• It reacts with water only at red heat, releasing hydrogen.

• It does not oxidize in air at room temperature but can combine       with fluorine, chlorine, and bromine.

• It reacts with iodine and other non-metals only upon heating.

• It is soluble in hot nitric acid, forming hydrated antimony       oxide.

• It reacts with hot sulfur to form antimony sulfate.

• At high temperatures, it reacts with oxygen to form antimony       trioxide (Sb₂O₃).

• Antimony Trioxide (Sb₂O₃)      Properties:

• This oxide is amphoteric, meaning it has both basic and acidic       properties.

• It is barely soluble in water but dissolves in acids and       alkalis.

• It can react with concentrated nitric acid.