Palladium is a chemical element with symbol Pd and atomic number 46. It is a rare and lustrous silvery-white metal discovered in 1803 by William Hyde Wollaston. He named it after the asteroid Pallas, which was itself named after the epithet of the Greek goddess Athena, acquired by her when she slew Pallas.
Three reasons Palladium stands out
- 1
Used in car catalysts, it helps to reduce harmful emissions.
- 2
It can absorb up to 900 times its own volume of hydrogen gas, making it useful for hydrogen storage.
- 3
Its price surpassed that of gold in 2019 due to surging demand from the automotive industry.
A metal that drinks hydrogen
Palladium can absorb an extraordinary amount of hydrogen into gaps within its crystal lattice. It is also a versatile catalyst, accelerating hydrogenation and carbon-carbon bond formation. Jewelry uses its pale, corrosion-resistant surface, while vehicle exhaust systems consume much of the available supply.