The precious metal platinum is frequently used as a material to make various products for analysis purposes. We explain the choice for this by highlighting the physical and chemical characteristics.
Precious metal has the following physical characterisctics;
Chemical symbol | Metal | Melting point |
Ag | Silver | 961°C |
Au | Gold | 1064°C |
Ir | Iridium | 2443°C |
Pt | Platinum | 1768°C |
Rh | Rhodium | 2237°C |
Pt/Au 95/5% | Platinum / gold | 1670°C |
Pt/Ir 97/3% | Platinum / iridium | 1772°C |
Pt/Ir 90/10% | Platinum / iridium | 1780°C |
Pt/Ir 80/20% | Platinum / iridium | 1815°C |
Pt/Rh 90/10% | Platinum / rhodium | 1850°C |
Pt/Rh 80/20% | Platinum / rhodium | 1900°C |
Au/Pt 90/10% | Gold / platinum | 1120°C |
Precious metal has the following chemical characterisctics;
The elements that combine most of these properties are the metals of the platinum group. With the exception of osmium and palladium. Osmium oxidizes at normal temperatures and palladium oxidizes at about 400°C. Palladium is also affected by certain mineral acids in particular, such as nitric acid.
Although the mechanical properties and heat resistance of iridium and ruthenium are better than those of platinum and rhodium, it is the hardness and high melting point that make them difficult to process.
Pure iridium products are only used for special applications. In addition, iridium and ruthenium are metals which oxidize relatively easily, necessitating an inert and reducing atmosphere.
Platinum is preferred over the three other metals; rhodium, palladium and osmium. This because of its physical and chemical properties, which make it ideally suited for applications in laboratory equipment. The properties can however be adjusted by adding certain other metals.
Check out our platinum in laboratory prodicts;
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