Your mind may conjure up images such as expensive jewellery and watches, or, for the car lovers amongst us, a catalytic converter in an automobile.
In certain chemical forms, platinum has the ability to slow or stop the division of living cells. Platinum-based drugs have been developed to treat a wide range of cancers. The first platinum based chemotherapy drug discovered by researchers was cisplatin, which forty years later continues to have applications in certain types of cancer. In that time, scientists have searched for ways to improve the anti-tumour efficacy of platinum based drugs, reducing the toxicity profile, and strengthening them against resistance.
Platinum-cured silicones are used to coat and protect automotive air bags from their explosive systems. Thanks to the platinum treatment, these air bags remain stable and can be kept folded and packed for long durations without deteriorating.
Additionally, the air bags contain an initiator sensor, which uses a fine platinum wire coated with explosive material to facilitate release of the air bag. Platinum-cured silicone mixtures are used in a range of personal care products from lipsticks and shampoos to contact lenses.
Additionally, the use of silicones in medical elastomers is one that is showing strong growth going forward. For wound healing they have excellent properties, in that they will stick to dry skin, while not sticking to and damaging the wet wound. Silicones are also air and moisture permeable which improves the healing process.
Platinum acts as an effective and durable catalyst in hydrogen-powered fuel cell electric vehicles FCEVs. This low-temperature, quick-start cell runs off pure hydrogen and uses platinum and palladium at its heart, with the FCEV itself emitting only water from its tailpipe.
Anglo American is a strong supporter of FCEVs and will continue to partner with industry and governments to secure the future of this clean, sustainable solution. However, platinum catalysts are used to make petrochemical feed stocks, the basic raw materials for the manufacture of plastics, synthetic rubber and polyester fibres used to produce clothes and blankets. Platinum-based fuel cells are proving to be more cost-effective, cleaner and more reliable than alternatives such as diesel generators.
Fuel cell mini-grid electrification technology is an attractive, cost-competitive alternative to grid electrification in these remote areas and could accelerate access to electricity. Electricity in homes and schools improves the quality of education, and the ability to pump water for irrigation facilitates farming and income generation.
Platinum is the key for these communities to be able to access the power that is vital to modern living. Discover more about platinum group metals here. Learn more about how hydrogen fuel cells work.
Our approach to mining. A world-class portfolio. COVID update. Take a tour of a modern mine. Q3 Production Report. All such documents and related graphics are provided "as is" without any representation or endorsement made and warranty of any kind, whether expressed or implied, including but not limited to the implied warranties of fitness for a particular purpose, non-infringement, compatibility, security and accuracy. In no event shall the RSC be liable for any damages including, without limitation, indirect or consequential damages, or any damages whatsoever arising from use or loss of use, data or profits, whether in action of contract, negligence or other tortious action, arising out of or in connection with the use of the material available from this Site.
Nor shall the RSC be in any event liable for any damage to your computer equipment or software which may occur on account of your access to or use of the Site, or your downloading of materials, data, text, software, or images from the Site, whether caused by a virus, bug or otherwise. Jump to main content. Periodic Table. Glossary Allotropes Some elements exist in several different structural forms, called allotropes.
Discovery date Known to native South Americans before Columbus, and taken to Europe around Discovered by - Origin of the name The name is derived from the Spanish 'platina', meaning little silver.
Allotropes -. Glossary Group A vertical column in the periodic table. Fact box. Group 10 Melting point Glossary Image explanation Murray Robertson is the artist behind the images which make up Visual Elements. Appearance The description of the element in its natural form. Biological role The role of the element in humans, animals and plants. Natural abundance Where the element is most commonly found in nature, and how it is sourced commercially.
Uses and properties. Image explanation. The image is based on Mayan character glyphs. The Mayans used platinum in jewellery. A shiny, silvery-white metal as resistant to corrosion as gold. Platinum is used extensively for jewellery. Its main use, however, is in catalytic converters for cars, trucks and buses.
Platinum is used in the chemicals industry as a catalyst for the production of nitric acid, silicone and benzene. It is also used as a catalyst to improve the efficiency of fuel cells. Platinum is also used to make optical fibres and LCDs, turbine blades, spark plugs, pacemakers and dental fillings.
Biological role. Platinum has no known biological role. It is non-toxic. Natural abundance. Platinum is found uncombined in alluvial deposits. Most commercially produced platinum comes from South Africa, from the mineral cooperite platinum sulfide.
Some platinum is prepared as a by-product of copper and nickel refining. Help text not available for this section currently. Elements and Periodic Table History. Probably the oldest worked specimen of platinum is that from an ancient Egyptian casket of the 7 th century BC, unearthed at Thebes and dedicated to Queen Shapenapit.
Otherwise this metal was unknown in Europe and Asia for the next two millennia, although on the Pacific coast of South America, there were people able to work platinum, as shown by burial goods dating back years.
In an Italian scholar, Julius Scaliger, wrote of a metal from Spanish Central America that could not be made to melt and was no doubt platinum. Then, in , Antonio Ulloa encountered this curious metal, but as he returned to Europe his ship was captured by the Royal Navy and he ended up in London.
There, members of the Royal Society were most interested to hear about the new metal, and by the s, platinum was being reported and discussed throughout Europe. Atomic data. Glossary Common oxidation states The oxidation state of an atom is a measure of the degree of oxidation of an atom. Oxidation states and isotopes. Glossary Data for this section been provided by the British Geological Survey. Relative supply risk An integrated supply risk index from 1 very low risk to 10 very high risk.
Recycling rate The percentage of a commodity which is recycled. Substitutability The availability of suitable substitutes for a given commodity.
Reserve distribution The percentage of the world reserves located in the country with the largest reserves. Political stability of top producer A percentile rank for the political stability of the top producing country, derived from World Bank governance indicators. Political stability of top reserve holder A percentile rank for the political stability of the country with the largest reserves, derived from World Bank governance indicators. Supply risk. Relative supply risk 7.
Young's modulus A measure of the stiffness of a substance. Shear modulus A measure of how difficult it is to deform a material. Bulk modulus A measure of how difficult it is to compress a substance. Vapour pressure A measure of the propensity of a substance to evaporate. Pressure and temperature data — advanced. Listen to Platinum Podcast Transcript :. You're listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by Chemistry World , the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry.
Hello - blonde hair, expensive jewellery, a new generation of catalysts and anti cancer drugs plus a mistake that cost the Spanish conquistadors very dear. Have you spotted the connection yet? If not, here's Katherine Haxton. Platinum as a metal speaks of prestige, value and power. An album has gone platinum, platinum wedding anniversaries, and highly prized platinum jewellery such as rings and Rolex watches.
Platinum is a very different substance to a chemist. Platinum metal is silvery white and does not oxidise, properties that make it highly appealing for jewellery.
It is more precious than silver but with prices more volatile than gold. Platinum has broad chemical resistance although the metal may be dissolved in aqua regia, a highly acidic mixture of nitric and hydrochloric acids, forming chloroplatinic acid, and has an extremely high melting point in excess of two thousand degrees centigrade.
Spanish conquistadors in the 16 th century viewed platinum as a nuisance, a white metal obtained while panning for gold and difficult to separate from the gold.
It was named Platina, a diminutive of Plata, the Spanish word for silver. Platina was believed to be unripe gold, and was flung back into the rivers in the hope that it would continue to mature into gold. There is anecdotal evidence of gold mines being abandoned due to platinum contamination. Platinum's properties allowed it to defy identification and classification until the 18 th century. Its high melting point and broad chemical resistance meant that obtaining a pure sample of the metal was difficult.
Platinum's place as a precious metal was first established in the 18 th century by Henrik Sheffer, who succeeded in melting or fusing platinum by adding arsenic. Three chemists, Lavoisier, Seguin and Musnier began working together in the late 18 th century to improve the design of their furnaces to enable platinum to be melted without the need of fluxes such as arsenic.
The French Chemist Lavoisier wrote for help from Josiah Wedgewood, the founder of Wedgewood pottery, asking for a clay that could be used to manufacture vessels that could withstand the high temperatures needed to melt platinum. Seguin later requested details of which fuel could burn sufficiently hot enough, and for further details on creating the hottest flame possible.
Lavoisier succeeded in melting platinum using oxygen to enhance the heat of the furnace but it would still be many years before a process could be found to produce commercial quantities. Of course, that was prior to Lavoisier's beheading at the height of the French Revolution in Janety had managed to develop a means of producing workable platinum using arsenic, and a way to remove the arsenic afterwards with limited success.
It is ironic that the very properties that make platinum metal so desirable caused so many difficulties for its discoverers. King Louis XVI of France believed that platinum metal was only fit for Kings, due in part to the difficulties in working with pure samples. In , a method for melting up to 15 kilograms of platinum using a furnace lined with lime and oxygen and coal gas as fuel was described by Deville and Debray.
The 19th century also saw the development of the first fuel cell using platinum electrodes. For example, coating jet engine blades with platinum-based products protects them where temperatures can reach 2, degrees C 3, degrees F.
Even today, platinum is so important to economic and defense efforts that it was listed as one of the 35 minerals "deemed critical to U. With a resume like that, it appears that platinum's reputation and price tag are well-deserved, indeed. Ironically, Spaniards who discovered platinum in Colombia were less than impressed, tossing it by the wayside as an impurity in the coveted silver they were mining. So disdainful of the metal were they that they dubbed it "platina," which means "little silver.
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