Tin

Tin • Other Metal

Primary XPS region: Sn3d
Overlapping regions: Na KLL
Binding energies of common chemical states:

Chemical state	Binding energy Sn3d_5/2
Sn metal	485.2 eV
SnO	~486 eV
SnO₂	~486.6 eV

Oxides charge referenced to adventitious C1s peak at 284.8eV.

Experimental information

Collect XPS valence band spectrum to distinguish between SnO and SnO₂.

Interpretation of XPS Spectra

Sn3d region has well-separated spin-orbit components (Δ_metal=8.4eV).
- Peaks have asymmetric peak shape for metal.
- Loss features are observed to higher binding energy side of 3d_3/2 spin-orbit component for Sn metal.
SnO and SnO₂ have similar binding energies.
- Use XPS valence band spectrum to distinguish between these oxides.

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Table of Elements

About this element

Symbol: Sn
Date of discovery: ancient times
Name origin: Latin stannum
Appearance: white
Discoverer: unknown
Obtained from: ore cassiterite

Melting point: 505.05 K
Boiling point: 2875 K
Density[kg/m³]: 7310
Molar volume: 16.29 × 10^-6 m³/mol
Protons/Electrons: 50
Neutrons: 69
Shell structure: 2,8,18,18,4
Electron configuration: [Kr]4d105s25p2
Oxidation state: 4,2
Crystal structure: tetragonal

According to archaeological evidence, it is believed that people have been using tin for at least 5500 years, making it one of the earliest known metals. Comprising a small fraction of the earth’s crust, only about .001%, tin is obtained and extracted from the mineral cassiterite. There are two allotropes or forms of tin that occur at room temperature; one of them being gray (alpha) tin and the other white (beta) tin. Grey tin has few cases, while white tin is widely-used in coating beverage cans and in foils to inhibit rust. A large percentage of the world’s tin is extracted from placer deposits, with at least one-half of the world’s supply of tin coming from Southeast Asia.