An Overview Of Platinum Alloys

Pure Platinum (Pt) is highly malleable and ductile and as such can be engineered and worked without a high degree
of annealing or heat treatment. Annealing works by heating a metal above its critical temperature (normally the
melting point), maintaining this temperature and then cooling the molten metal. Annealing is normally one part of
the alloying process for a particular metal and designed to improve ductility, reduce internal stresses, in short change
its properties in some way. Pure Pt is not as useful as when it has been alloyed and so to increase its range of uses
pure Pt has other elements added to it in a molten state. The precise technique employed will depend on the type of
alloy, which will in turn depend on how the final alloy is to be used. For example, Pt alloys can be produced in an
oxygen rich or poor environment or a vacuum, it depends on what is being added and why the alloying substances
are being added.
Forging Pt alloys
After forging Pt alloys can be stored as ingots before further processing, which commonly involves extrusion into
sheets and wires or further heat treatment. In fact, the metallurgical technique used after alloying will always depend
on the end use of the alloy itself. It is perfectly possible that a given Pt alloy can have several uses, and this means
that different treatment methods must be employed. Pt alloys readily lend themselves to powder treatment
techniques. In essence, the solid alloy is turned into a fine powder and then compacted before being worked into the
desired shape.
Some Common Pt Alloys
The alloys described below are all binary (two substance) alloys, but Pt can readily be combined with more
substances. Once the overall percentage of these materials approached 25%, no matter the actual percentage of
each alloying material, the structure of the alloy starts to become unstable.
Pt Cobalt (Co) alloy: 5% Co and 95% Pt alloy is the preference for many forms of jewellery and Pt casting. The reason
is that, in a liquid state, the alloy is highly fluid meaning that more intricate designs can be created from the metal
cast. There is also very little porosity on the atomic scale meaning that fewer impurities can work their way into the
alloy. The disadvantage is that Co is a magnetic element and if the solid alloy is to be soldered it can form an oxide
layer which can affect both thermal and electrical conductivity.
Pt Iridium (Ir) alloy: Where the Ir content is 5% the alloy is readily applicable in the casting of jewels, but it does not
have the strength of other Pt alloys. Depending on the equipment an Ir content of between 10-20% is used in the
manufacture of surgical and medical instruments because these alloys are corrosion resistant and so do not react
with body fluids and are very stable.
Pt Tungsten (W) alloys: W is one of the hardest and heat resistant metals in the periodic table. It is associated with
use as the filament in standard electric lightbulbs. There are many PT alloys which contain up to 8% W, and its main
function is to add to the hardness of Pt metal. W is a superb conductor of electricity and so along with its heat
resistance it is perfect for use in electrical contacts (such as spark plugs) and in biomedical applications where extra
durability is required.
Pt is a highly valuable and versatile precious metal which when mixed with other substances has its range of
applications increased.
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