History
(Latin Germania, Germany) Mendeleev predicted the existence of Germanium in 1871 asekasilicon, and the element was discovered by Winkler in 1886.
Sources
The metal is found in
- argyrodite, a sulfide of germanium and silver ;
- germanite, which contains 8 percent of the element;
- zinc ores;
- coal; and
- other minerals.
The element is commercially obtained from the dusts of smelters processing zinc ores,as well as recovered from combustion by-products of certain coals. A large reserve of theelements for future uses in insured in coal sources.
Germanium can be separated from other metals by fractional distillation of its volatiletetrachloride. The techniques permit the production of germanium of ultra-high purity.
