Palladium
A rare platinum-group metal essential for catalytic converters.
Last updated
More than half the supply of palladium and platinum is used in catalytic converters that convert harmful exhaust gases into nontoxic substances.[1] Among the platinum group metals, palladium has the lowest density and the lowest melting point, and it is a soft, silver-white metal with an appearance similar to platinum.[2]
Quick Facts
- Atomic number
- 46
- Discovered by
- William Hyde Wollaston
- Year of discovery
- 1802
- Group
- platinum group metals
- Melting point
- lowest of the platinum group metals
- Density
- least dense of the platinum group metals
Facts from the source article.
Key facts and history
Naturally occurring palladium is composed of six stable isotopes.[3] In 2022, Russia was the top producer of palladium with 88,000 kilograms.[4] Palladium was used as a tuberculosis treatment at 0.065 g per day, but had many negative side-effects.[5] During April 1803, Wollaston, without revealing his identity, offered purified palladium for sale at a small Soho shop.[2]
It was in a 1805 publication that Wollaston revealed himself as the discoverer of palladium.[6] During May 2021 and again in March 2022, the price of palladium exceeded $3,000 per troy ounce.[7]
What the research sources say
The Mann account states that modern 950 palladium alloys are superior to earlier palladium ruthenium alloys for jewelry.[8] According to Mann, palladium does not require rhodium plating to maintain its bright white appearance.[8] Mann reports that palladium is nearly half the weight of platinum and is comparable to platinum when worn.[8] The Mann source notes that palladium is not likely to cause skin allergies.[8]
Mann describes that 950 palladium alloys are workable for jewelry design and manufacturing procedures.[8] Concentrated nitric acid slowly dissolves palladium, while aqua regia readily dissolves it at room temperature.[2] Palladium films that contain defects from alpha particle bombardment at low temperatures exhibit superconductivity at a critical temperature of 3.2 K.[9]
References
- Wikipedia, "Palladium" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Gao, "Palladium-assisted NOx storage and release on CexZr1-xO2 for passive NOx adsorber in diesel exhaust aftertreatment", Communications Engineering, 11 November 2024, p. 164 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Palladium" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Hammond, C. R., "Handbook of Chemistry and Physics", CRC press, 2004 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Palladium" (CC BY-SA 4.0) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Palladium" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: U. S. Geological Survey, "Mineral commodity summaries 2023", 2023, p. 210; ""Norilsk Nickel" Group announces preliminary consolidated production results for 4 th quarter and full 2016, and production outl", Nornickel (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Palladium" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Garrett, "The Art of Meeting Palladium Specifications in Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients Produced by Pd-Catalyzed Reactions", Advanced Synthesis & Catalysis, 2004, p. 889–900 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Palladium" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Griffith, W. P., "Rhodium and Palladium – Events Surrounding Its Discovery", Platinum Metals Review, 2003, p. 175–183; Wollaston, "On a New Metal, Found in Crude Platina", Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, 1804, p. 419–430; Usselman, "The Wollaston/Chenevix controversy over the elemental nature of palladium: A curious episode in the history of chemistry", Annals of Science, 1978, p. 551–579; Wollaston, "On the Discovery of Palladium; With Observations on Other Substances Found with Platina", Philosophical Transactions en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Palladium" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Palladium Rally Is About More Than Just Autos", Bloomberg.com, 2017-08-30; "Don't Expect Palladium Prices To Plunge OilPrice.com", OilPrice.com; "Gold soars as Middle East tensions brew perfect storm", Reuters, 6 January 2020; Patel, "Palladium tops $3,000/oz as supply fears grow, gold jumps over 1%", Reuters, 4 March 2022 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Mann, "950 Palladium: Manufacturing Methods", Ganoksin, 2007. facts only, no text reused. ganoksin.com
- Wikipedia, "Palladium" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: B. Strizker, Phys. Rev. Lett., 42, 1769 (1979). (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Palladium (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Palladium (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Word definitions: the , each quoted from its Wikipedia article.
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