Gallium (Ga) Metal
Gallium can be molten at room temperature. It has a higher density as a liquid than as a solid. Gallium can be alloyed with most metals and is done so to reduce the melting point. Gallium can convert electricity to light. Its properties make Gallium considered a technology-critical element by the United States National Library of Medicine.
Gallium is available in ultra high pure form of up to 8N or 99.999999% purity.
Gallium is important in semiconductors and producing solid-state devices such as transistors. Its compounds are used in LED technology, photonic switches, and solar panels. Gallium is used in special high-temperature thermometers because of its high boiling point and low melting point. It is an important alloying metal.
Due to the corrosive nature of gallium, along with the fact that gallium readily oxidizes, the plant has developed rigorous packaging standards. Typical packaging for ultra high purity gallium entails casting the gallium under an inert gas blanket into a HDPE container, then vacuum sealing the HDPE container in a polyethylene bag.
Gallium (Ga) Metal TSCA (SARA Title III) Status: Listed
For further information, please call the EPA, Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP) at 202-564-2902
Gallium (Ga) Metal CAS Number: 7440-55-3
Gallium (Ga) UN Number: 2803
Safety Note: Gallium (Ga) Metal Precautions: While not considered toxic, the data about gallium are inconclusive. Some sources suggest that it may cause dermatitis from prolonged exposure; other tests have not caused a positive reaction. Like most metals, finely divided gallium loses its luster, and powdered gallium appears gray. Thus, when gallium is handled with bare hands, the extremely fine dispersion of liquid gallium droplets, which results from wetting skin with the metal, may appear as a gray skin stain.