Palladium Micropowder (Pd, 5-10µm 99.95%)

Palladium Micropower

Palladium, along with rhodium, ruthenium, osmium, iridium and platinum, form a group of elements called platinum group metals (PGMs). Palladium is a shiny, silvery white metal. It has a face-centered cubic crystalline structure, at normal temperatures it is highly resistant to air corrosion and the action of acids. Hot acids act on it and it dissolves in aqua regia. It forms many compounds and several complex salts. Palladium Micropowder has a great capacity to absorb hydrogen (up to 900 times its own volume).

Due to its corrosion resistance, palladium is mainly used in alloys used in low voltage electrical contacts. When finely ground, palladium forms a good catalyst and is used to accelerate hydrogenation and dehydrogenation reactions.

Palladium is widely used in jewelry in some alloys called “white gold”. It can be bonded or replaced with platinum. It is used in watch bearings, springs and balance wheels, as well as in mirrors for scientific instruments.

In the 1990s, most catalytic converters relied on platinum to reduce vehicle emissions, but while the metal is still important, palladium is now the primary ingredient as it removes unburned and partially burned hydrocarbons from fuel even more effective.

Palladium is now increasingly used in household appliances such as widescreen televisions, computers and cell phones as tiny multilayer ceramic capacitors, of which more than 400 billion are produced annually.

For use in dentistry it is alloyed with silver, gold, and copper. Palladium salts are used in electroplating.