# What is Palladium used for? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 3, 2001, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-palladium-used-for/96687 "2001-12-03T20:32:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Chubbs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/47e85d/32.png) [@Chubbs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chubbs)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2001, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-palladium-used-for/96687/1 "2001-12-03T20:32:22Z")
I see it going for $350.00 an ounce but never seen it used in Jewlery like Gold, Silver and Platinum. What is it used for? ---
**Author:** ![Ferrous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Ferrous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferrous)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2001, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-palladium-used-for/96687/2 "2001-12-03T20:57:07Z")
From the Encart Encyclopedia article “Palladium (element)”: > [@](#): > > The chief use of the metal is in the field of communications, where it is used to face electrical contacts in automatic switchgear. It is also used in dentistry; for nonmagnetic springs in clocks and watches; for coating special mirrors; and in jewelry, alloyed with gold, in what is called white gold. ---
**Author:** ![Spritle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Spritle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spritle)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2001, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-palladium-used-for/96687/3 "2001-12-03T20:57:51Z")
Dancin’, baby, dancin’!! ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2001, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-palladium-used-for/96687/4 "2001-12-03T21:19:21Z")
A very good resource for any question having anything to do with wlements is [http://www.webelements.com](http://www.webelements.com) . Among other things, it gives uses. For palladium, in addition to those already mentioned in the encyclopedia, it mentions that finely divided palladium is used as a catalyst in hydrogenation / dehydrogenation reactions, it’s used to purify hydrogen gas, and can be beaten to a leaf as thin as 1/250000 inch. Turns out that the stuff has unusual ability to absorb hydrogen - hydrogen diffuses through it when heated, hence the use in purifying hydrogen. I suspect that most of the action on the precious metals market is to make “white gold”. ---
**Author:** ![Bob\_Scene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@Bob\_Scene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bob_Scene)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2001, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-palladium-used-for/96687/5 "2001-12-03T21:21:44Z")
Palladium’s used to prepare samples for electron microscopy by making their surfaces conductive. ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2001, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-palladium-used-for/96687/6 "2001-12-03T23:35:17Z")
Very small amounts of palladium (and platinum) are used in automobile catalytic converters. ---
**Author:** ![Linear\_Crack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Linear\_Crack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Linear_Crack)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2001, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-palladium-used-for/96687/7 "2001-12-04T00:17:32Z")
I once saw “Beatlemania” at the **Palladium**. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![ryoushi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@ryoushi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ryoushi)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2001, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-palladium-used-for/96687/8 "2001-12-04T03:29:32Z")
Wasn’t Palladium the element that supposedly caused cold fusion, except it didn’t really? ---
**Author:** ![CRorex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CRorex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CRorex)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2001, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-palladium-used-for/96687/9 "2001-12-04T03:32:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ryoushi \* > \*\*Wasn’t Palladium the element that supposedly caused cold fusion, except it didn’t really? \*\* And it would have worked too if I hadn’t stolen the Philosphers Stone. MUWHAHAHAH ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2001, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-palladium-used-for/96687/10 "2001-12-04T05:18:21Z")
> [@](#): > > Wasn’t Palladium the element that supposedly caused cold fusion, except it didn’t really? Yes, it was palladium that was the centerpiece of Fleischmann and Pons’ cold fusion “demonstration”. > [@](#): > > And it would have worked too …except for those darn kids! And that dog! ---
**Author:** ![Waverly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/57b2e6/32.png) [@Waverly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waverly)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2001, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-palladium-used-for/96687/11 "2001-12-04T13:27:49Z")
Relating to Pd’s use as a catalyst, as mentioned earlier: Pd is often the seed site for electroless plating processes (metalizing non-conductors.) This is the method automakers use to plate chrome on plastic, but more importantly it is a mainstay ofthe electronics industry. It allows the additive plating of conductor images onto a substrate. ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2001, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-palladium-used-for/96687/12 "2001-12-04T14:14:19Z")
Don’t be silly all ye fools. Palladium is used in a paladin’s armor. Just ask sir Lanceleot. Hmmpph. Silly people. ---
**Author:** ![Andy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/aeb1de/32.png) [@Andy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2001, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-palladium-used-for/96687/13 "2001-12-04T16:20:31Z")
It’s a very common catalyst (well, derivatives of palladium, rarely the elemental metal) in research labs like mine. It helps along a load of (otherwise) tricky coupling type reactions. If you’re interested, look up Stille/Suzuki/Negishi etc palladium mediated coupling reactions. I did one last week; it worked really well:) Compare with, say, the Ullmann reaction…:eek: ---
**Author:** ![Tenebras](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/977dab/32.png) [@Tenebras](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tenebras)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2001, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-palladium-used-for/96687/14 "2001-12-04T17:00:16Z")
The idea behind cold fusion (which might have been working if they had died 🙂 ) was that the Palladium would absorb so much Hydrogen that the Hydrogen would fuse. Fusion indeed… Tenebras ---
**Author:** ![don\_willard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e57/32.png) [@don\_willard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_willard)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2001, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-palladium-used-for/96687/15 "2001-12-04T17:16:41Z")
I think The Palladium was the name of a vast temple to the ancient Greek goddess Athena. Also, palladium is right near osmium, iridium, platinum, and has similar properties on the Periodic Table of the Elements. Now I know what is in white gold, which I always wondered about. The Palladium was also a theatre in New York or someplace, which Jack Benny and other entetainers used to mention on their shows. They would play at the Palace and the Palladium. ---
**Author:** ![Zweistein](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/54ee81/32.png) [@Zweistein](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zweistein)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2001, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-palladium-used-for/96687/16 "2001-12-04T19:19:35Z")
Palladium printing is one of the finest alternative photographic techniques I know of. Instead of silver as in classical photography, palladium is used to form the image. A similar technique exists with platinum. ---
**Author:** ![pincushion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d9b06d/32.png) [@pincushion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pincushion)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2001, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-palladium-used-for/96687/17 "2001-12-05T08:26:02Z")
[smart]Well, they need something to fill in that gap in the periodic table, don’t they?[/smart] 😉 ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2001, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-palladium-used-for/96687/18 "2001-12-06T04:35:40Z")
[sub]doing this from memory, so don’t take my dates as gospel[/sub] The price of palladium was in the $100/ounce range for years and years. While platinum, since 1980 or so, has fluctuated between $300-800/ounce, mostly between $300-500. When many countries in the Far East started to turn to palladium in their auto catalytic converters, it caused a mild upswing in the price. When the former Soviet Union fell apart in the 1990’s, the price of palladium and platinum shot up very high. The miners weren’t being paid and so Russian wasn’t delivering. Considering that Russia supplies about half of the worlds palladium, the price rose in a matter of a year from $150 to $1000/ounce. I believe that most catalytic converters in the US are coated with platinum and most in many Far East countries with palladium. But I could always stand to be corrected.