Antimony Antimony Antimony is a chemical element with symbol Sb (from ) and atomic number 51. A lustrous gray metalloid, it is found in nature mainly as the sulfide mineral stibnite (SbS). Antimony compounds have been known since ancient times and were powdered for use as medicine and cosmetics, often known by the Arabic name, kohl. Metallic antimony was also known, but it was erroneously identified as lead upon its discovery. The earliest known description of the metal in the West was written in 1540 by Vannoccio Biringuccio. For some time, China has been the largest producer of antimony and its
Germanium disulfide Germanium disulfide Germanium disulfide or Germanium(IV) sulfide is the inorganic compound with the formula GeS. It is a white high-melting crystalline solid. The compound is a 3-dimensional polymer, in contrast to silicon disulfide, which is a one-dimensional polymer. The Ge-S distance is 2.19 Å. Germanium disulfide was the first germanium compound found by Clemens Winkler, during the analysis of argyrodite. The fact that germanium sulfide does not dissolve in aqueous acid made it possible for Winkler to isolate the new element. Germanium disulfide is created by reacting hydrogen sulfide with germanium tetrachloride in a concentrated hydrochloric acid solution. Natural GeS