and Characteristics
Harmful effects:
Platinum is considered to be non-toxic.
Characteristics:
Platinum is a precious metal; soft, silvery-white, and dense with a beautiful lustrous sheen. It is malleable and ductile and has a high melting point. Platinum does not oxidize in air even at high temperatures and is unaffected by common acids. It dissolves in aqua regia (mixture of nitric acid and hydrochloric acid in the ratio 1:3) forming chloroplatinic acid (H2PtCl6). It is also corroded by halogens, cyanides, sulfur, and caustic alkalis.
Uses of Platinum
Platinum is widely used as a catalyst for chemical reactions. The most important use of platinum is in vehicles, as a catalytic converter, facilitating the complete combustion of unburned hydrocarbon passing through the exhaust.
Platinum is used in jewelry, decoration and dental work. The metal and its alloys are also used for electrical contacts, fine resistance wires and medical / laboratory instruments. An alloy of platinum and cobalt is used to produce strong permanent magnets. The metal is also used to make electrodes sealed in glass (as its thermal coefficient of expansion is almost equal to that of glass).