Twenty-fifth Anniversary 1957–1982

For almost as long as platinum has been available in commercially useful quantities the names Johnson and Matthey have been closely associated with the provision of this metal and its five allied metals—palladium, rhodium, iridium, osmium and ruthenium—in the various forms required for specific uses. Advantageously, the inherent chemical and physical properties of the platinum metals, including high melting point, exceptional resistance to oxidation and corrosion, remarkable catalytic activity and, in the case of platinum and palladium, good ductility, occur in unique combinations which ensure that these metals are suitable for a very wide range of applications.

In order that the use of the platinum metals should not be restricted by the lack of theoretical or practical knowledge Johnson Matthey has always sought to assist and encourage both research on the fundamental properties of the metals and developments in their application. However such knowledge is of only limited value unless it is readily available to all who can understand and make use of it, and it was for this purpose that Platinum Metals Review was founded in 1957. Indeed, the first issue of this journal carried an editorial announcement that concluded with the following sentence: “It is to provide engineers, chemists, metallurgists, and other users with a source of current information on the properties and industrial applications of the platinum metals that the publication of Platinum Metals Review has been undertaken.” Today, this is still the aim of the journal.

During the past twenty-five years there has been a tremendous increase in published information on so many aspects of science and technology, including numerous studies of the platinum metals that have at least some relevance to their use in industry. Much of this work appears first in specialised or regional journals which may not always be seen by those people who could best harness theoretical advances to the solution of existing, or foreseen, practical problems. Furthermore, in an age when specialists can still make notable contributions to progress in fields other than their own, it is not always easy for them to know where they should be looking for information, or even what they should be looking for. Thus by seeking out, selecting and presenting to a wider readership significant advances in the scientific and technical knowledge of the platinum metals this journal is endeavouring to assist in, and at the same time is recording, the successful application of platinum technology to the material needs of a complex and changing world.

As the journal moves into its second quarter century, it is appropriate that this occasion should be taken to send thanks to those readers throughout the world who by their individual and collective efforts have made the continuing publication of Platinum Metals Review both worthwhile and possible.