Platinum Metals Review - Volume 48, Issue 1, 2004

Ordering and decomposition kinetics of Pd-Cu-Ag alloys having the B2-type superstructure that contain 0 to 30 wt.% silver have been studied. The results of investigations into the microstructure, electrical and mechanical properties are described. Different methods for improving the strength properties of ordered alloys are discussed.

The London Platinum and Palladium Market (LPPM) oversees dealings in platinum and palladium. Twice each day, four members of the LPPM fix the bid prices. The bid price is the price at which LPPM members agree they will buy “good delivery” metal. The bid prices are benchmarks for the market and hence for the industry. Bid prices in turn affect the offer prices that customers are asked to pay for metal. The market values of platinum and palladium, as is the case for all commodities, ultimately affect manufacturing costs. Here, the background to the establishment of the LPPM is summarised and its current role in this important metal market is briefly described.

Some salientfeatures of platinum group metal compounds with sulfur, selenium or tellurium, known as chalcogenides, primarily focusing on binary compounds, are described here. Their structural patterns are rationalised in terms of common structural systems. Some applications of these compounds in catalysis and materials science are described, and emerging trends in designing molecular precursors for the syntheses of these materials are highlighted.