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From the Greek name 'Pallas', goddess of wisdom, Palladium was discovered by the British chemist William Hyde Wollaston in 1804. It took nearly two centuries for palladium's significance to be recognized, and the fight against global pollution owes a lot to this unique metal. Following the perfection of his technique to obtain pure samples of
platinum in 1801,
William Hyde Wollaston went on to isolate palladium two years later by
dissolving platinum ore in aqua regia (a mixture of hydrochloric and
nitric acid). He named it after Pallas, the ancient Greek goddess of
wisdom whose name had also been recently lent to the second asteroid ever
discovered. |
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In an attempt to keep his techniques a secret, Wollaston offered samples of palladium for sale anonymously and his peers were cynical about the new metal's provenance, suspecting that it was an alloy of platinum. This forced him to publish details of his findings in 1805. The use of palladium really took off in the 1970s when demand for catalytic converters - in which its remarkable properties play a key role increased as automobile emission standards were introduced in the developed world. As these standards were tightened and applied globally in the 90s, demand for palladium expanded exponentially. Palladium is a steel-white metal, does not tarnish in air, and is the least dense and lowest melting of the platinum group of metals. When palladium is annealed, it is soft and ductile, and cold working greatly increases its strength and hardness. Palladium has the unusual property of absorbing 900 times its own volume of hydrogen gas at room temperature, but hydrogen readily diffuses through heated palladium, providing a means of purifying the gas. Palladium is also used as an alloy in jewelry, mostly in the production of white gold. Palladium metal is also used in dentistry, watch making, and in making surgical instruments and electrical contacts. Palladium is a white ductile metal with properties similar in many respects to Platinum. Palladium resists tarnish in ordinary atmospheres, but does tarnish slightly upon outdoor exposure to a sulfur-contaminated environment. Palladium is generally resistant to corrosion by most single acids, alkalies and aqueous solutions of simple salts. It is not attacked at room temperature by non-oxidizing acids such as sulfuric, hydrochloric, hydrofluoric, acetic and oxalic acids. More information concerning palladium can be found on the Stillwater Palladium website. Ordering From Us Go to our Information Packet page and fill out the information to receive a FREE Northwest Territorial Information Packet on bullion sales. |
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