The Platinum Decathlon - A Tribute to the Foresight of Antoine Baumé

Abstract

Johnson Matthey Technology Centre, Blounts Court, Sonning Common, Reading RG4 9NH, UK Email: *barnacfj@matthey.com; **fonesar@matthey.com Ten application areas and ten properties of platinum (or its alloys) are selected here to represent a “platinum decathlon”. Platinum has a unique combination of properties which make it eminently suitable for many applications from jewellery to anticancer drugs, from high-temperature engineering to a range of catalytic applications. The 18th century French chemist Antoine Baume foresaw the desirability of platinum’s use in industry and its use today in many essential areas bears this out.