Silver-rhodium alloys

Bromo-pentammino-rhodium Bromide, [Rh(NH3)5Br]Br2, is prepared in a similar manner to the cliloro-salt by heating rhodium-zinc alloy with a mixture of bromine and hydrobromic acid, or by warming aquo-pentammino-rhodium bromide with excess of hydrobromic acid to 100° C.1 2 It separates in small orthorhombic yellow crystals which are almost insoluble in cold water and insoluble in alcohol and hydrobromic acid. It has the same constitution as the ehloro-compound. Treated with nitric acid, hydrochloric acid, or silver carbonate, it yields the corresponding salts respectively, and with moist silver oxide yields an unstable hydroxide, [Rh(NIT3)5Br](OH)2. The methods from the preparation of the bromo-salts are like those for the ehloro-salts. 

Jewelry and silverware. Because of its high reflectivity, sterling silver (i.e., a silver-copper alloy) is extensively used for jewelry, silverware, and tableware where appearance is paramount. Sometimes, a protective rhodium coating is electrodeposited onto thin nickel-plated silver objects to avoid tarnishing. Sterling-silver alloy contains roughly 92.5 wt.% Ag, the remainder being copper or some other metals. 

Silver alloy electrodes made in this manner are usually rhodium-plated (tips) and then platinized. They serve well in registering fast transients and exhibit a noise figure close to the theoretical limit for their equivalent resistance. 

Alloys suitable for castings that ate to be bonded to porcelain must have expansion coefficients matching those of porcelain as well as soHdus temperatures above that at which the ceramic is fired. These ate composed of gold and palladium and small quantities of other constituents silver, calcium, iron, indium, tin, iridium, rhenium, and rhodium. The readily oxidi2able components increase the bond strength with the porcelain by chemical interaction of the oxidi2ed species with the oxide system of the enamel (see Dental materials). 

Laister and Benham have shown that under more arduous conditions (immersion for 6 months in sea-water) a minimum thickness of 0-025 mm of silver is required to protect steel, even when the silver is itself further protected by a thin rhodium coating. In similar circumstances brass was completely protected by 0 012 5 mm of silver. The use of an undercoating deposit of intermediate electrode potential is generally desirable when precious metal coatings are applied to more reactive base metals, e.g. steel, zinc alloys and aluminium, since otherwise corrosion at discontinuities in the coating will be accelerated by the high e.m.f. of the couple formed between the coating and the basis metal. The thickness of undercoat may have to be increased substantially above the values indicated if the basis metal is affected by special defects such as porosity. 

In view of the high cost, when tarnish resistance of the surface is the only requirement it is customary to use the thinnest possible coatings of rhodium (0-000 25-0-000 5 mm). Since rhodium deposits in this thickness range, like thin electrodeposits of other metals, show significant porosity, readily corrodible metals, e.g. steel, zinc-base alloys, etc. must be provided with an undercoating deposit, usually of silver or nickel, which is sufficiently thick to provide a fairly high level of protection to the basis metal even before the final precious metal deposit is applied, and, in this way, to prevent accelerated electrochemical corrosion at pores in the rhodium deposit. 

It is not possible to plate rhodium directly on to reactive metals of the type mentioned above, in view of the acid nature of the electrolyte, but copper and its alloys, e.g. nickel-silver, brass, phosphor-bronze, beryllium-copper, which are of special importance in the electrical contact field, may be plated directly. Even in this case, however, an undercoat is generally desirable. 

The reason for it is not obvious since gold is not a very rare element on earth, and other metals, for example, platinum, rhodium, osmium, and rhenium, are less abundant and more expensive. Its yellow color cannot be the reason either, since other metals, such as copper, and its alloys as bronze or brass, have different colors from the bright silver of most of the metals. Probably, the reason resides in its noble character. In fact, gold does not tarnish with time, and coins and jewelry remain indefinitely unalterable even after long exposure to extremely aggressive conditions. 

Alloys.—Rhodium does not alloy with silver. When added to molten silver it floats on the surface and is recovered, on cooling, in the amorphous condition.1... 

For many catalysts, the major component is the active material. Examples of such unsupported catalysts are the aluminosilicates and zeolites used for cracking petroleum fractions. One of the most widely used unsupported metal catalysts is the precious metal gauze as used, for example, in the oxidation of ammonia to nitric oxide in nitric acid plants. A very fast rate is needed to obtain the necessary selectivity to nitric oxide, so a low metal surface area and a short contact time are used. These gauze s are woven from fine wires (0.075 mm in diameter) of platinum alloy, usually platinum-rhodium. Several layers of these gauze s, which may be up to 3 m in diameter, are used. The methanol oxidation to formaldehyde is another process in which an unsupported metal catalyst is used, but here metallic silver is used in the form of a bed of granules. 

As mentioned earlier, two compatible reactions may be coupled or conjugated properly by a shared membrane through which the species (as a product on one side of the membrane and a reactant on the other) common to both reactions selectively passes. Summarized in Table 8.5 are some documented studies of reaction coupling using dense palladium-based membranes with the alloying component ranging from nickel, ruthenium, rhodium to silver. 

FP-4 (zirconium, niobium, molybdenum, technetium, ruthenium, rhodium, palladium, silver, cadmium, indium, tin, antimony)—are only slightly soluble (<1 wt %) in the process alloy, thus will partition between both product streams. The process, as presented, offers no method of FP-4 removal and possibly an unwanted increase in these products would occur if the fuel were to be recycled. However, it would be possible to separate the FP-4 from the plutonium/thorium stream by recovering the plutonium/thorium by hydriding. The FP-4 do not form stable hydrides and would remain in solution. 

Nickel and iron salts. Attacks by aqua regia, fused nitrates, cyanides, chlorides at >1000°C. Alloys with gold, silver, and other metals Fused samples contaminated with the metal rhodium to increase hardness. Platinum cmcibles for fusions and treatment with HF Ni and Fe crucibles used for peroxide fusions... 

Ruthenium, osmium, rhodium, iridium, palladium and platinum are the six heaviest members of Group VII1. They are rare elements platinum itself is the commonest with an abundance of about 10-6% whereas the others have abundances of the order of 10"7 % of the earth s crust. They occur in Nature as metals, often as alloys such as osmiridium, and in arsenide, sulfide and other ores. The elements are usually associated not only with one another but also with the coinage metals copper, silver and gold. The main suppliers are South Africa, Canada and the USSR. 

Steel appears to form valuable alloys with a very small proportion of some other metals. With a little silicon and aluminum, it yields a metal equal to the Indian wootz and with small quantities of silver, platinum, rhodium, palladium, and even iridium and osmium, alloys of prodigious hardness and toughness are obtained. part of silver is sufficient to effect a marked improvement. 

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