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Platinum
Platinum is one of the rarest elements in the earth's crust. Only an ounce of platinum is obtained from 10 tons of ore, and only a few hundred tons are produced annually. Very similar in appearance to silver, platinum is known not only for its lustrous color, but also for its stability, strength, rarity, and density. Thermo Scientific platinum products are suitable for a variety of research and development applications.
Explore our PremIon line of precious metal compounds and pure elements. The minimum purity of our PremIon line of products is 99.99% (metals basis). PremIon pure elements include palladium, rhodium, iridium, ruthenium, osmium, silver, and gold.
Key features:
- Large selection of platinum compounds can be manufactured up to a purity of 99.999%
- Most other platinum products are manufactured to 99.9% purity as standard
- A batch-specific Certificate of Analysis is produced for each product
- Each platinum product batch has full metallic impurities typically measured by ICP-MS to ppm, and measured platinum content
- Specialized platinum compounds outside our catalog range can be manufactured on request
- Precious metal reclamation services are available
Our Thermo Scientific platinum products are also available in bulk quantities and pack sizes that can be customized to your requirements.
Facts about platinum
- The moon and meteorites have a higher percentage of platinum than Earth.
- Platinum is derived from the Spanish term “platino” meaning “little silver."
- Platinum has great resistance to corrosion and chemical attack.
- Platinum is much rarer than gold—all of the platinum ever mined could fit into an average living room.
- Nearly half of the platinum that is mined is used in catalytic converters, the part of the automobile that reduces toxic gases into less-toxic emissions.
- Platinum's durability, inertness, and electrical conductivity make it suitable for use as electrode material.
Pure platinum forms
Platinum wire
Platinum powder
Platinum granules
Platinum thin foil
Platinum shot
Platinum compounds
Platinum alloys and labware
Due to their intrinsic characteristics, precious metals have generated great interest in research laboratories worldwide to explore their potential applications in different fields. Some examples of applications are listed below. Thermo Fisher Scientific can provide a broad range of high-purity metals and materials for your R&D studies.
Chemistry
The most common application of platinum is as a catalyst in chemical reactions. In industry, it is used in: the hydrogenation of benzene to produce cyclohexane, the raw material for nylon; fuel cells for the reduction of oxygen; the production of higher-octane gasoline; the manufacture of specialty silicones; and the hydrogenation of vegetable oils. Platinum and its alloys are used in the manufacture of crucibles and evaporating dishes for chemical analyses. In the research lab, organometallic complexes of platinum are used as reagents for the synthesis of many useful and interesting organic compounds.
Medicine and chemotherapy
The discovery of platinum's most remarkable and unexpected ability—in certain chemical forms, the ability to inhibit the division of living cells—led to the development of platinum-based drugs. Browse the Thermo Scientific portfolio to discover our Pt(II) and Pt(IV) products to synthesize new platinum complexes for your laboratory research.
Medical devices
Platinum's intrinsic properties make it suitable for medical device applications, including pacemakers, stents, and neuromodulation devices. The Thermo Scientific portfolio contains a variety of platinum forms, from foil, rods, to wires, to support in researching the development of these types of products.
Emission control devices
Records show that in 2014, 98 tons of platinum (about 45% of total platinum mined) were used in emission control devices called catalytic converters, which help convert over 90% of harmful elements like hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, and oxides of nitrogen from gasoline engines into less harmful carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and water vapor. Over 98% of all new vehicles come with catalytic converters.
Agriculture
Platinum-rhodium catalysts are used in the manufacture of nitric acid, which in turn is used to produce the ammonia found in many liquid fertilizers for agricultural applications.
Electronics
Because of its unsurpassed metallurgical properties, platinum has been used in electrical contacts and in various electrode systems for many years. The microelectronics revolution that began in the 1970s opened up a range of new applications, including thin film technology (in integrated circuits as silicide ohmic and Schottky contacts and on-chip capacitors, as temperature sensors), thick film technology (as platinum/platinum alloy conductors and in resistance thermometers), and manufacturing (as crucibles for crystal growing, in thermocouples, and in glass-melting equipment for the manufacture of optical fibers).
Aerospace
Platinum is used in multiple ways in the manufacture of aircraft engine parts: in the coating of jet engine fuel nozzles and turbine blades used to protect against hot corrosion and oxidation, as a pinning wire to hold the ceramic cores within the aircraft turbine blade during casting, and in aerospace spark plugs and thermocouples. It is also used in the coating of missile cones.
Jewelry
The least reactive precious metal, known for its resistance to corrosion and oxidation at any temperature as well as for its ductility, malleability, and its silvery sheen, platinum is commonly used in jewelry. In 2010, 76 tons of platinum (about 31% of the platinum mined) was used in jewelry.
Pure platinum forms
Platinum wire
Platinum powder
Platinum granules
Platinum thin foil
Platinum shot
Platinum compounds
Platinum alloys and labware
Due to their intrinsic characteristics, precious metals have generated great interest in research laboratories worldwide to explore their potential applications in different fields. Some examples of applications are listed below. Thermo Fisher Scientific can provide a broad range of high-purity metals and materials for your R&D studies.
Chemistry
The most common application of platinum is as a catalyst in chemical reactions. In industry, it is used in: the hydrogenation of benzene to produce cyclohexane, the raw material for nylon; fuel cells for the reduction of oxygen; the production of higher-octane gasoline; the manufacture of specialty silicones; and the hydrogenation of vegetable oils. Platinum and its alloys are used in the manufacture of crucibles and evaporating dishes for chemical analyses. In the research lab, organometallic complexes of platinum are used as reagents for the synthesis of many useful and interesting organic compounds.
Medicine and chemotherapy
The discovery of platinum's most remarkable and unexpected ability—in certain chemical forms, the ability to inhibit the division of living cells—led to the development of platinum-based drugs. Browse the Thermo Scientific portfolio to discover our Pt(II) and Pt(IV) products to synthesize new platinum complexes for your laboratory research.
Medical devices
Platinum's intrinsic properties make it suitable for medical device applications, including pacemakers, stents, and neuromodulation devices. The Thermo Scientific portfolio contains a variety of platinum forms, from foil, rods, to wires, to support in researching the development of these types of products.
Emission control devices
Records show that in 2014, 98 tons of platinum (about 45% of total platinum mined) were used in emission control devices called catalytic converters, which help convert over 90% of harmful elements like hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, and oxides of nitrogen from gasoline engines into less harmful carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and water vapor. Over 98% of all new vehicles come with catalytic converters.
Agriculture
Platinum-rhodium catalysts are used in the manufacture of nitric acid, which in turn is used to produce the ammonia found in many liquid fertilizers for agricultural applications.
Electronics
Because of its unsurpassed metallurgical properties, platinum has been used in electrical contacts and in various electrode systems for many years. The microelectronics revolution that began in the 1970s opened up a range of new applications, including thin film technology (in integrated circuits as silicide ohmic and Schottky contacts and on-chip capacitors, as temperature sensors), thick film technology (as platinum/platinum alloy conductors and in resistance thermometers), and manufacturing (as crucibles for crystal growing, in thermocouples, and in glass-melting equipment for the manufacture of optical fibers).
Aerospace
Platinum is used in multiple ways in the manufacture of aircraft engine parts: in the coating of jet engine fuel nozzles and turbine blades used to protect against hot corrosion and oxidation, as a pinning wire to hold the ceramic cores within the aircraft turbine blade during casting, and in aerospace spark plugs and thermocouples. It is also used in the coating of missile cones.
Jewelry
The least reactive precious metal, known for its resistance to corrosion and oxidation at any temperature as well as for its ductility, malleability, and its silvery sheen, platinum is commonly used in jewelry. In 2010, 76 tons of platinum (about 31% of the platinum mined) was used in jewelry.
Find platinum in our interactive periodic table
Learn about the physical properties of platinum or any element, select products by format, and find compounds and alloys.