Platinum

Element Name: Platinum
Atomic Number: 78
Atomic Mass: 195.084
Atomic Symbol: Pt
Melting Point: 1768.4° C
Boiling Point: 3825° C

Platinum is a lustrous silvery-white metal which is both soft and incredibly dense. It’s a member of the platinum group metals, which includes other precious metals such as rhodium and osmium. Platinum is malleable and supremely ductile while also being resistant to form compounds. It does not oxidize, and normal acids do not affect it making it good as jewelry or lab equipment. Platinum comes from the Spanish word “Plantina” (lit. “little silver”), because the conquistadors found it when they came to the new world and believed it to new sort of metal similar to silver. Platinum typically exists in the +2, +4, +1, and +3 oxidation states. It has 6 naturally forming isotopes, with Platinum-195 being the most abundant at 33.83%. There are also 31 synthetic isotopes whose half-lives vary from 300µs to 50 years.

Interesting Facts:

The term “platinum blonde” comes from a 1931 movie of the same name that had a female leading character who was rich and had extremely light blonde hair. Platinum’s cost is much more volatile than gold and it will tend to be more valuable than gold in a strong economy, and less valuable in a weak or uncertain economy. Louis XV helped boost platinum’s popularity in the 1700s by saying it was the only metal fit for a king. Despite this, platinum later became ill-favored until the later 19th century when Louis Cartier began popularizing it. Silver’s popularity was down because it had become too common for the upper class, and so platinum became new the fashionable thing to use for nighttime formalwear.

Sources:

Platinum was first found by the western world in South America in the 1500s, but South Africa now dominates the market. It produces 80% of the world’s platinum and has most of the remaining known deposits. Along with the other platinum group metals, platinum is byproduct of nickel and copper mining. Less often, pure platinum is found placer deposits and can be separated with relative ease. Platinum is roughly as rare as gold at 5 parts per billion, but has many more industrial uses. The metal was once defined as the length of a certain platinum-iridium bar; the kilogram is STILL defined by a cylinder made of the same substance.

Industrial Uses:

Of the 218 tons of platinum mined in 2014, 45% of it went to the automotive industry, 34% was used in jewelry, 9.2% in chemicals and petroleum, and 2.7% for other electrical applications. The remainder went to medicine, glassmaking, investments, and other small applications. The most common use is as a catalyst in a catalytic converter. The purpose of this catalyst is to combust any leftover hydrocarbons before being released as exhaust. In the form of Adams’ Catalyst it is used to hydrogenate vegetable oils. Lab equipment is sometimes made out of platinum since it is so non-reactive. Electrodes are often made out of platinum; the Standard Hydrogen Electrode uses platinum as its material of choice because of its resistance to corrosion and ability to catalyze reactions. While not quite an industrial use, jewelry and investments make up a substantial portion of platinum’s uses. Limited edition watches from designer brands use platinum in their products because it will not tarnish or wear.

References:

“Platinum.” Chemicool Periodic Table. Chemicool.com, 24 Jul. 2015. Web. 26 July
2016.
“Platinum.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 26 July 2016.
“Facts About Platinum.” Livescience. Livescience.com, 23 Aug. 2013. Web. 26 July 2016.
Gray, Theodore W., and Nick Mann. The Elements: A Visual Exploration of Every
Known Atom in the Universe. New York: Black Dog & Leventhal, 2009. Print.
Aldersey-Williams, Hugh. Periodic Tales: A Cultural History of the Elements, from
Arsenic to Zinc. New York: Ecco, 2011. Print.