General Information

Correct Element Name: Platinum

Element Symbol:   Pt

Atomic Number:  78

Atomic Weight:  195.078(2)

Group Number:  10

Melting Point & Boiling Point
Melting Point 2045 (K)
Boiling Point 4100 (K)
Heat of Vaporization 510 (kJ/mol)
Specific Heat .13 (J/gK)
Ionization Potential 9 (V)
Electronegativity 2.28
Electron Configuration [Xe]4f14 5d9 6s1
Density of Natural State 21.4 (g/mL)

 

Historical Background 

Discoverer Antonio de Ulloa/Julius
Caesar Scaliger
Placed Discovered South America
Discovery Date 1735/1557
Origin of Name Spanish word "platina", meaning silver.
How was is it discovered? It was being used by the pre-Columbian Indians when it was rediscovered in South America by Antonio de Ulloa [in1735], and again by Wood [in 1741].
Other In 1822, there was maximum amounts of platinum discovered in the Ural Mountains of Russia.
Where is it found? The world's major producer of platinum is the Republic of South Africa; other major producers are Canada and Russia.  Other deposits are found in Finland, Ireland, Borneo, New South Wales, New Zealand, Brazil, Peru, and Madagascar.
What is it's Natural Abundance? Platinum is one of the most abundant and most used member of the platinum metal family, which also includes iridium, osmium, palladium, rhodium, and ruthenium. 
Where is Platinum Obtained? Platinum is found in the earth as platinum ores.  The world's most important deposits occur in the Transvaal of South Africa. 

Properties:

   Platinum is the last element in the Group VII of the periodic table.  It is a silvery metal, soft, dense, very ductile and malleable.    Its elecrical conductivity is comparatively low, and its coefficent of expansion is the lowest of the commercial metals.  Platinum is untarnished by air, but vaporizes appreciably at red heat.  The halogens, including fluorine, have no effect at ordinary temperature, and single mineral acids do not dissolve platinum.  Aqua regia and a mixture of hydrochloric and chloric acids dissolve the metal.  It is also attacked at high temperature by fused mitrates, acid sulfates, hydroxides, peroxides, sulfides, iodine, phosphorous, arsenic, carbon, silicon, selenium, and tellurium.

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