The followinguses for tin are gathered from a number of sources as well as from anecdotal comments. I would be delighted to receive corrections as well as additionalreferenced uses.
- used to coat other metals to prevent corrosion or other chemical action (tin cans are made from tin coated steel)
- alloying agent, important alloys incldue soft solder, type metal, fusible metal, pewter, bronze, bell metal, Babbitt metal, White metal, die casting alloy, and phosphor bronze
- the chloride (SnCl2.H2O) is used as a reducing agent and as a mordant in calico printing
- tin salts sprayed onto glass are used to produce electrically conductive coatings. These have been used for panel lighting and for frost-free wind-shields
- window glass is made by floating molten glass on molten tin (float glass) to produce a flat surface (Pilkington process)
- a crystalline tin-niobium alloy is superconductive at very low temperatures. Such magnets, made of tin-niobium wire, weigh just a few pounds and produce magnetic fields that are comparable to that of a 100 ton electromagnet
- trialkyl and triaryl tin compounds are biocides - there is concern over their environmental effects. Tributyltin is the active ingredient in a type of antifouling paint used on ships.