Platinum | Properties | Uses | Other Details

Platinum Properties Uses and other Details

What is Platinum

Platinum is a metal, and chemically it is an element. Platinum is a very rare and precious metal, it is a silvery white lustrous metal. Platinum is a dense, malleable, ductile, chemically nonreactive, metal. Its symbol is Pt, its atomic weight is 195.08 and its atomic number is 78. Its atom contains 78 protons, 78 electrons, and 117 neutrons. The density of platinum is 21.45 grams per cubic centimeter. Platinum is solid at room temperature, melts at 1772 °C (Melting Point), and boils at 3827 °C (Boiling Point).

Platinum is one of the 6 rare elements of the platinum group. Other elements of the platinum group are ruthenium, rhodium, palladium, osmium, iridium. The physical properties and chemical properties of all the elements of the platinum group are almost similar and they are generally found together in minerals.

Platinum was discovered in 1557 by the Italian scientist Julius Scaliger.

Platinum Properties Uses and other details

Properties of Platinum Metal

• Platinum is a malleable metal, but its malleability is less than that of gold and silver.
• Platinum is the most ductile metal. 1 gram of platinum can be used to make 16500 meter long wire without breaking, whose thickness is about 0.0006 MM.
• Platinum is a chemically inert metal, due to which platinum does not rust. Platinum does not react with the oxygen present in the air even at high temperatures, due to which it remains rustproof even at high temperatures.
• Platinum does not react with most substances, but platinum dissolves in cyanide at a temperature of 120 °C. Apart from this, platinum also reacts with sulfur and halogens. Halogens are five toxic elements of Group 17 of the Periodic Table, which are Fluorine, Chlorine, Bromine, Iodine, Astatine.
• Platinum metal resists most acids but it is soluble in hot aqua regia. Aqua regia is a mixture of nitric acid and hydrochloric acid in the ratio 1:3.
• Platinum is the third heaviest metal after osmium (density 22.587 grams per cubic centimeter) and iridium (density 22.56 grams per cubic centimeter). The density of platinum is 21.45 grams per cubic centimeter.
• Air and water have no effect on platinum.
• A mixture of hydrogen and oxygen explodes in the presence of platinum metal.
• There are six naturally occurring isotopes of platinum, with platinum-194 being the most abundant.
• Platinum is very strong and durable, it is stress resistant even in extreme heat and extreme cold. That is, platinum neither expands much nor shrinks much even in extreme heat and extreme cold and maintains its shape. Therefore, jewelry made of platinum remains durable for a long time.
• Platinum has anti-allergic properties, so jewelry made of platinum can be easily worn by any allergy sufferer.

Uses of Platinum Metal

• The most important use of platinum is in the automobile industry. Catalytic converter for vehicles is made by platinum, it is installed in the exhaust of vehicles. The catalytic converter converts the toxic gases emitted from the vehicles into less harmful gases, thereby reducing pollution.
• Inside the catalytic converter, there is a mesh made of ceramics like honeycomb, on which there is a layer of platinum and palladium metals. When engine smoke passes through this mesh, it converts carbon monoxide into carbon dioxide. Converts hydrocarbons to carbon dioxide and water, and nitrogen oxides to nitrogen and oxygen.
• Platinum metal is also used in the petroleum industry. Catalysts made of platinum metal play an important role in the extraction of gasoline and other fuels from crude oil.
• Platinum is used to make computer hard drives.
• Platinum metal is used to make fiber optic cables.
• Platinum metal is used in making anti cancer medicines, and platinum is also used in chemotherapy.
• Platinum metal is also used in dentistry.
• Platinum is used to make nitric acid from ammonia to manufacture fertilizers and explosives.
• Platinum metal is used to make high quality jewellery.
• Platinum metal is used to make very expensive glasses of high quality.
• Platinum metal is used in the glass industry to make crucibles and liners. Because the melting temperature of platinum is very high and being an inert metal, it does not react chemically with molten glass.
• Platinum metal is used to make glass and fiberglass reinforced plastics for LCD display manufacturing.
• Catalytic converters made of platinum are used in fuel cell technology.
• Platinum is used as an anode on ships and underwater pipelines to protect them from corrosion by the salt water of the sea.
• The nose cone of the missile, the fuel nozzle of the jet engine and other equipment are coated with platinum, so that they can work efficiently for a long time even at high temperatures.
• Platinum is an inert and anti-allergic metal, it also has good electrical conductivity, and the small-sized parts made from it are very strong and durable. Because of all these properties, platinum is used to make devices used inside the body such as pacemakers, stents, implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICD) etc.

Interesting facts about Platinum metal

• It is often understood that platinum is called white gold, but this is only a misconception, platinum and white gold are different metals. Many people do not know that white gold is not found naturally, it is made from a mixture of metals like yellow gold, palladium and silver.
• Platinum is about 21 times heavier than water and about 3 times heavier than iron.
• International Prototype of Kilogram (IPK) by which the weight of 1 kilogram is determined all over the world. The prototype is made in the form of a circular cylinder, whose diameter and height are the same 39 millimetres. This cylinder is made of an alloy of platinum and iridium, which contains about 90% platinum and 10% iridium. This prototype is kept in Saint-Cloud, France.
• Similarly, the International Prototype of Meter by which the distance of 1 meter is determined all over the world is an X shaped rod. Which is made of an alloy of platinum and iridium, in which about 90% is platinum and 10% is iridium. It is kept in the city of Paris, France.
• It is estimated that only 25% of the total platinum production is used in jewelry making and investments, with the remaining 75% used in industries.
• The melting point of platinum is about 200 °C higher than the melting point of iron.

Production of Platinum

There are 5 major platinum producing countries in the world, which are South Africa, Russia, Zimbabwe, Canada and the United States. Of this, the country of South Africa produces 70% of the world's total platinum production, which was about 110 metric tons in the year 2018.

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