Platinum

Platinum: uses

The following uses for platinum are gathered from a number of sources as well as from anecdotal comments. I'd be delighted to receive corrections as well as additional referenced uses (please use the feedback mechanism to add uses).

• jewellry
• wire and vessels for laboratory use
• thermocouple elements
• electrical contacts
• corrosion-resistant apparatus
• in dentistry
• platinum-cobalt alloys have magnetic properties
• coating missile nose cones, jet engine fuel nozzles
• the metal, like palladium, absorbs large volumes of hydrogen, giving it up at red heat
• in the finely divided state platinum is an excellent catalyst (such as the contact process for producing sulphuric acid). Also as a catalyst for cracking oil and as a catalyst in fuel cells and in catalytic converters for cars
• platinum anodes are extensively used in cathodic protection systems for large ships and ocean-going vessels, pipelines, steel piers
• platinum wire glows red hot when placed in the vapor of methanol - acting as a catalyst to convert the alcohol into formaldehyde. This phenomenon has been used commercially to produce cigarette lighters and hand warmers
• sealed electrodes in glass systems
• laboratory vessels, corrosion-resistant equipment
• dentistry
• currently fashionable use in antipollution devices in cars
• cis-platin, [PtCl₂(NH₃)₂], is an effective drug for certain types of cancer such as leukaemia or testicular cancer
• platinum/osmium 90/10 alloy is used in implants such as pacemakers and replacement valves

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