Recently, more and more often you can hear the question of where palladium is used and how to get it. This is not accidental, because its value and nobleness play an important role. Many people want to get this expensive metal for various reasons, but not everyone succeeds. Just walking along the road, it’s difficult to randomly detect palladium, although this may very well happen with lucky ones.
The article will talk about the properties and uses of palladium, as well as the prices for it today. Information will be especially interesting to connoisseurs of precious metals. Even though the active mining of this element began not so long ago, its popularity has already grown quite well.
The properties
Before you talk about where palladium is used, you should find out why it has become so relevant today. In fact, this was facilitated not only by a noble origin, but also by its incredible properties, which this metal is not so small.
In science, there are three main groups of properties: physical, chemical and biological. It is them that need to be considered separately. Thanks to this, it will be possible to form a broader understanding of what constitutes the element in question.
Physical
Speaking about where palladium is used and where it came from, it’s worth mentioning an English chemist named William Wollaston. It was he who received this metal, back in 1803. And the name of this element was given in honor of the asteroid Pallas, who became known to the world shortly before the removal of this metal by laboratory means. In those days, it was difficult for people to find a destination for a new element, so a certain period of time he had to lie idle.
Palladium itself has a silver-white hue. As for its appearance, it resembles ordinary silver. The physical properties of this element were found as follows:
- boiling point - 2 940 ° C;
- density - 12.0 g / cm 3 ;
- modulus of elasticity - 12,600 kgf / mm 2 ;
- melting point - 1554 ° C;
- Brinell hardness is 52 kgf / mm 2 .
It is also worth noting that even today the metal in question is recognized as one of the rarest on the planet. On the whole of its land there is only 0.000001%.
Another interesting ability of an element is to change its structure starting from heating from 18 ° C. And with a further increase in this indicator, the changes become irreversible.
Scientists add elements of the platinum group to palladium. Due to this, they manage to significantly improve the properties of the precious metal. For example, with the addition of ruthenium and rhodium, the chemical element becomes twice as strong and elastic.
Chemical
The active use of palladium in various fields of activity is also due to its chemical properties. First of all, it should be noted that it has a fairly high inertness, as well as galvanic resistance, which is very rare in modern metals. Such properties are explained by the atomic structure of the element. It is also worth saying that it does not interact with acids, water molecules and alkalis in any way, therefore it will not be possible to put the simplest school experiments on it, although hardly anyone will agree to get it for such purposes.
If you heat the metal to 350 degrees, its resistance will remain stable. But with an increase in this indicator, it will begin to oxidize. As a result of this reaction, a dull oxide film forms on the metal surface. If you heat it to 850 degrees, you can observe its decay. This phenomenon is explained by the fact that in the temperature range from 800 to 850 degrees the element already has oxidation resistance and is not amenable to it.
Not so long ago, scientists found out one interesting fact. Its essence is that a solution of nitric acid is able to thinner a pure titanium plate by 19 mm per year, and in the case of an alloy of palladium with the same titanium, thinning will occur much more slowly - only 0.10 mm per year.
When heated to 500 degrees, the element successfully interacts with various oxidizing agents, including fluorine. Thanks to this, scientists have already been able to conduct a lot of research.
An additional chemical property of palladium is its ability to enhance the anticorrosive capabilities of titanium. When precious metal is added to this element, its resistance to aggressive media increases significantly.
Biological
The medical field of application of palladium has not yet been fully explored. At the moment, scientists are still figuring out the biological properties of this element. But on the other hand, they have already discovered its healing potential, due to which it is actively used in medicine in the form of complex compounds for the production of cytostatic drugs.
Where is palladium mined?
Today, the use of palladium in Russia should be thanked by Norilsk Nickel. It is she who holds the first place in the extraction of this precious metal. The holding is engaged in the production of about 41% of palladium raw materials around the globe. The main deposits are located on the Taimyr Peninsula, which is located in the Arctic. There are copper-nickel deposits, where measures are taken to extract the precious element.
The second state in terms of receiving palladium is considered South Africa. There are deposits that provide about 38% of the world's metal production.
The remaining share, which is 21%, is divided into several fields located in such countries:
- Canada - 9%;
- Zimbabwe - 3%;
- North America - 6%;
- Colombia, Australia and others (together) - 3%.
The use of metal in medicine
Where is palladium used? Speaking specifically about the medical field, here from this element all kinds of auxiliary tools for prosthetics are created. It is also used in the manufacture of pacemakers. In addition, palladium is used to treat cancer - it is used in the manufacture of anticancer drugs.
Importance in Jewelry
The use of palladium in the jewelry industry is especially important, since products with its participation are quite attractive and please the eye of not only beautiful ladies, but also of the opposite sex. As a rule, the metal in question is used as an independent decoration, but sometimes acts as an addition to silver and gold products. It is not customary to combine it with other precious metals. In addition, products with his direct participation almost never complement valuable stones.
Palladium in the automotive industry
The use of palladium in industry, or rather the automotive industry, is not so widespread. With his participation, only catalysts are manufactured. Although for several years, scientists have been pondering where else this element can be applied in this area.
Recent statistics indicate that in recent years, the amount of palladium used in the automotive industry has decreased by about three times. Although at the same time its production was increased by more than 25%. The reason for such phenomena lies in the cost of metal - it grows along with the needs of the automotive industry.
Other applications
Where is palladium used in industry? The above list of industries is not exhaustive. Such a precious element is also actively exploited in the following areas:
- Electrical and electronic. Here, the metal in question takes an active part in the creation of temperature controllers, capacitors, thermocouples, as well as electrical connectors. All this with the participation of the element in question began to be produced not so long ago. The technology quickly gained popularity, so no changes are planned in this direction regarding the elimination of palladium or the addition of new products based on it.
- Chemical. Workers in this industry are actively using the element as a catalyst, that is, a special accelerator for certain reactions. Unfortunately, he does not interact with all the elements of the periodic table, but this does not interfere with the development of new reactions with his direct participation.
- Investment. Oddly enough, palladium was found to be advantageous here. Valuable coins are minted from it and used for financial investments.
- Food. Here you can also meet the element in question. It is sometimes used to create elements of dishes. This is ensured by the well-known fact that the precious metal has chemical neutrality. At the same time, products manufactured with his participation practically do not differ from ordinary ones, but their price is an order of magnitude higher.
Rates
For one gram of palladium in its pure form will have to pay at least 1,300 rubles. As for the products in which it is included, everything here depends on the percentage of the content of this metal.
Specialists who buy a precious element independently share prices in this way:
- contacts, needles, knitting needles, etc. (palladium content is 18–28%) - about 350 rubles per gram;
- wrapping from strings and other things (80% of the element in the composition) - more than a thousand rubles per 1 g;
- coins (Soviet 5, 10 and 25 rubles - contain about 99.9% of this metal) - from 1400 rubles;
- scrap of radio components (limiters, resistors, ShIV ligature, gas mask filters) - the cost is calculated individually, based on weight, category of goods and other characteristics;
- palladium chloride (brown powder with crystals) - one thousand rubles per kilogram.
Conclusion
Although palladium is considered a rare metal, enough information has been obtained about it to understand what it is. It has many interesting properties and its study is still ongoing. The list of industries in which this element can be used is constantly expanding. The cost of palladium is not so high as can be assumed at first glance, although only a few are in a hurry to purchase such a product.