PALLADIUM (PD)

last update 01 oct 08

* Palladium is a member of the transition metals family:

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   PALLADIUM / Pd / 46

   A lustrous, silvery-white, malleable, and ductile metal with good
   resistance to corrosion.  Six isotopes are found in nature:

     Pd<106/46> / 27.5% 
     Pd<108/46> / 26.5% 
     Pd<105/46> / 22%
     Pd<110/46> / 12%
     Pd<104/46> / 11%
     Pd<102/46> /  1%

   All are stable.

     atomic weight:       106.42
     abundance:           76th
     density:             12.02 g/cc
     melting point:       1,554 C
     boiling point:       2,970 C
     valence:             2 3 4
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Palladium is one of the "platinum" metals. It is produced from nickel ores at a level of a few hundred tonnes a year, the bulk of it as a catalyst for automotive catalytic converters. It is also used in electronics for electrical contacts; in some dental alloys with silver, mostly used in Japan; and in jewelry, usually as an alloy with gold known as "white gold". It is noted for its ability to adsorb several thousand times its own volume of hydrogen gas.