Pseudo palladium (RhAg) is a
binary alloy consisting of equal parts of
rhodium
Rhodium is a chemical element; it has symbol Rh and atomic number 45. It is a very rare, silvery-white, hard, corrosion-resistant transition metal. It is a noble metal and a member of the platinum group. It has only one naturally occurring isot ...
(
atomic number
The atomic number or nuclear charge number (symbol ''Z'') of a chemical element is the charge number of its atomic nucleus. For ordinary nuclei composed of protons and neutrons, this is equal to the proton number (''n''p) or the number of pro ...
45) and
silver
Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...
(atomic number 47) created using
nanotechnology
Nanotechnology is the manipulation of matter with at least one dimension sized from 1 to 100 nanometers (nm). At this scale, commonly known as the nanoscale, surface area and quantum mechanical effects become important in describing propertie ...
to create a far more homogeneous mixture than might be possible using more conventional methods. This alloy exhibits properties of the intervening element
palladium
Palladium is a chemical element; it has symbol Pd and atomic number 46. It is a rare and lustrous silvery-white metal discovered in 1802 by the English chemist William Hyde Wollaston. He named it after the asteroid Pallas (formally 2 Pallas), ...
(atomic number 46).
History
The production of this alloy was first reported by
Kyoto University
, or , is a National university, national research university in Kyoto, Japan. Founded in 1897, it is one of the former Imperial Universities and the second oldest university in Japan.
The university has ten undergraduate faculties, eighteen gra ...
Professor Hiroshi Kitagawa and his research team, October 27, 2010. To make the new alloy, the Kyoto team used nanotechnology to "nebulise" the rhodium and silver and gradually mixed them with heated alcohol, with the two metals mixed stably at the atomic level. The same team also produced alternatives to other kinds of rare metals.
Characteristics
The new alloy has similar properties to palladium, which is used as a catalyst to cleanse
exhaust gas
Exhaust gas or flue gas is emitted as a result of the combustion of fuels such as natural gas, gasoline (petrol), diesel fuel, fuel oil, biodiesel blends, or coal. According to the type of engine, it is discharged into the atmosphere through ...
and absorbs large quantities of hydrogen.
Rhodium, palladium and silver have 45, 46, and 47 electrons, respectively, numbers that determine their chemical characterizations.
"The orbits of the electrons in the rhodium and silver atoms probably got jumbled up and formed the same orbits as those of palladium," Kitagawa said.
Applications
The alloy has similar properties to palladium, which is used in cars' emission-reducing catalytic converters as well as in computers, mobile phones, flatscreen TVs, and dentistry instruments.
Hydrogen storage is cited as one potential use, however, according to researchers, the pseudo palladium alloy has only one half of palladium's hydrogen storage capacity.
See also
*
NaK
References
{{Reflist
Palladium
Precious metal alloys
Silver compounds
Rhodium compounds