Question

what is tin disease or tin pest??

Answer 1

Tin pest: It is the transformation of ordinary white tin into the powdery grey tin at very cold temperature. It is auto catalytic and allotropic transformation. It is also called as tin disease or tin leprosy.

Process: At very low temperature, pure tin transforms from the silvery, ductile metallic allotrope of β-form white tin to brittle, nonmetallic, α-form grey tin with a diamond structure. Eventually the α-form decomposes into powder, hence the name tin pest. The decomposition will catalyze itself, which is why the reaction speeds up once it starts; the mere presence of tin pest leads to more tin pest. Tin objects at low temperatures will simply disintegrate.