Palladium metal

Palladium metal pellets are pill-shaped palladium metal materials with metallic luster, high purity, high density and good chemical stability, which play an important role in catalysis, electronics, jewellery and many other fields, and are an industrial raw material and precious metal product of high value.

Characteristics

Appearance: silver-white metallic colour, with metallic luster, more similar to platinum in appearance.

Density: Relatively high density of 12.02 g/cm3 (20°C), but the lowest density and lowest melting point of the platinum group of metals, which makes it convenient for processing and use.

Ductility and malleability: Good ductility and malleability, capable of being forged, calendered and drawn into a variety of shapes and sizes to meet the needs of different application scenarios.

Hydrogen absorption: Bulk metallic palladium absorbs large quantities of hydrogen, causing it to swell significantly, become brittle and even break into fragments. Spongy or colloidal palladium is even more hydrogen-absorbent, absorbing 900 volumes of hydrogen by 1 volume of sponge palladium and 1200 volumes of colloidal palladium at room temperature, although most of the absorbed hydrogen is released when heated up to 40 – 50°C. The hydrogen absorbed by sponge palladium can be absorbed into the bulk of the palladium.

Stability: Stable in air and humid environments at room temperature, but when heated to 800°C, a palladium oxide film forms on the surface of the palladium.

Corrosion resistance: resistant to hydrofluoric acid, phosphoric acid, perchloric acid, hydrochloric acid and sulphuric acid vapour, but easily soluble in aqua regia and hot concentrated sulphuric acid and concentrated nitric acid, molten certain substances such as sodium carbonate, sodium peroxide also have a corrosive effect on palladium.

Coordination: It is easy to form coordination compounds, such as K2 [PdCl4], K4 [Pd (CN) 4] and so on.

Catalytic properties: It has important applications in the field of catalysis and is an excellent catalyst. For example, it can be used as a catalyst in the production of nitric acid, the manufacture of hydrogen peroxide by the anthraquinone method, as well as in hydrogenation, dehydrogenation, isomerisation and cracking reactions.

Applications

Automotive industry:

Exhaust gas cleaning catalysts: Palladium is one of the key catalyst components in automotive exhaust gas cleaning systems. Palladium metal particles can be used in the manufacture of three-way catalytic converters, which can effectively catalyse the redox reactions of harmful gases such as carbon monoxide (CO), hydrocarbons (HC) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) and convert them into harmless carbon dioxide (CO₂), nitrogen (N₂) and water (H₂O), thus reducing the environmental pollution caused by automobile exhaust gases.

Manufacture of automotive parts: Due to its good corrosion and wear resistance, palladium pellets are also used in the manufacture of some automotive parts, such as certain special sensors and electronic components.

Electronics industry:

Capacitor electrode materials: Palladium has good electrical conductivity and stability, and can be used to manufacture electrodes for capacitors. In some high-performance capacitors, palladium metal particles can improve the capacitance and stability of the capacitor, to meet the high requirements of electronic equipment on capacitors.

Printed Circuit Board (PCB) Manufacturing: In the PCB manufacturing process, palladium particles can be used as electroplating materials for plating palladium on circuit boards to improve the conductivity and solderability of the circuit boards and to ensure the reliable connection of electronic components.

Semiconductor manufacturing: In semiconductor manufacturing, palladium can be used as a metallic interconnect material to connect different components in a semiconductor chip. Palladium metal particles can be deposited on semiconductor chips by sputtering and other processes to form a metallic interconnect structure for signal transmission within the chip.

Chemical industry:

Catalyst: Palladium is an important catalyst with a wide range of applications in chemical production. Palladium metal particles can be used as catalysts in a variety of chemical reactions such as hydrogenation reaction, dehydrogenation reaction, oxidation reaction, etc. For example, it is used in petrochemical industry for catalytic hydrocracking, hydrofinishing and other processes to improve the efficiency and selectivity of the reaction.

Fine Chemical Synthesis: Palladium particles can also be used as catalysts in the synthesis of fine chemical products. For example, in drug synthesis and spice synthesis, palladium-catalysed reactions can achieve highly efficient chemical transformations and synthesise compounds with specific structures and functions.

Jewellery industry:

Jewellery making: Palladium has a platinum-like appearance and good physical properties, such as high hardness, wear resistance and corrosion resistance. Palladium metal pellets can be used to make palladium jewellery such as rings, necklaces and bracelets. Compared with precious metals such as gold and platinum, palladium jewellery is relatively inexpensive and at the same time has a unique charm that is popular among consumers.
Alloying materials: Palladium can be used to form alloys with other metals for the manufacture of jewellery. For example, the alloy of palladium and gold has high hardness and wear resistance, while maintaining the colour and aesthetics of gold, and is widely used in the jewellery industry.

Fuel Cell Field:

Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC): In PEMFC, palladium can be used as a catalyst for the oxidation reaction of hydrogen and the reduction reaction of oxygen. Palladium metal particles can improve the performance and efficiency of fuel cells and reduce the cost of fuel cells.

Direct Methanol Fuel Cell (DMFC): In DMFC, palladium can also be used as a catalyst for the oxidation of methanol. The catalytic properties of palladium particles can improve the energy conversion efficiency of DMFCs, making them more suitable for application scenarios such as portable electronic devices.