Press Releases
Essential Applications of Platinum Group Metals Explored
With the world's attention focused on the Olympic Games in London, sport is very topical at present. The sporting theme is given a new twist in an article in the latest issue of Platinum Metals Review entitled "The Platinum Decathlon - A Tribute to the Foresight of Antoine Baum{".
Ten applications and ten properties unique to platinum and its alloys which make it indispensable for modern life are discussed, from its striking ductility used for manufacturing jewellery components, to the unique reactivity of platinum-based anticancer complexes.
Chris Barnard and Andrew Fones from Johnson Matthey Technology Centre, Sonning Common, UK, discuss the special combination of properties which make platinum desirable for various applications from high-temperature engineering to a range of catalytic applications.
The 18th century French chemist, Antoine Baum{, foresaw platinum's value to industry when he wrote: "So many excellent properties united in a single metal make it desirable that it should be introduced into commerce" - and so it has been, as the article amply demonstrates.
The July 2012 issue of Platinum Metals Review also covers some essential applications of platinum's sister metals, notably palladium.
PGM-based emissions control for non-road vehicles is the focus of an article by Danan Dou of John Deere Power Systems, while this issue's Final Analysis highlights the radiopacity and mechanical properties of palladium and palladium alloys which make them suitable for dental restoration and biomedical device applications.
Palladium is also the subject of a technical article on the metal's crystallographic properties, written by expert John Arblaster.
The 'minor' pgms, iridium and osmium, also feature in the new issue.
Iridium and osmium are being investigated for novel applications including iridium electroluminescent complexes in OLEDs, and complexes containing osmium as potential anticancer agents.
Both of these applications featured in a recent conference held in celebration of the 250th Anniversary of the birth of Smithson Tennant, discoverer of the two elements.
To read all this and more in the latest issue of Platinum Metals Review, and to sign up for Email Alerts, please see www.platinummetalsreview.com.
