Surepure Chemetals has been in business for over 35 years.
We sell pure platinum wire, platinum-iridium wire, platinum-rhodium wire,
as well as other precious metals and other forms (e.g., sheet, ribbon). Many items are in stock or can be made and shipped quickly.
Our customers include university researchers, medical device makers, machine shops, government agencies, jewelers, multinational corporations, small businesses, and individuals.
Surepure's platinum wire is RoHS compliant.
Please buy online, or contact us to order by phone, fax, or email.
We accept PayPal, MasterCard, Visa, Discover, and American Express.
The products below are representative of what we sell.
If you need a diameter, length, purity,
or alloy not listed here, please
request a quote.
Platinum Overview
Platinum is a very rare silver-white metallic precious element. It has an abundance in the Earth's crust of roughly 0.004 ppm, ranking it among the least abundant elements on Earth.
Platinum has been found in Egyptian artifacts as old as 700 BC and was used in jewelry in Central and South America at least as early as the 1500s. But the Spanish explorer and scientist Antonio de Ulloa is credited with its discovery in 1735 in Colombia.
The name "platinum" comes from the Spanish word platina meaning "little silver." It was intended with a negative connotation: it made mining for gold more complicated as its melting temperature was too high to be easily melted away.
Properties of Platinum
Platinum has several key properties that make it a great metal to work with.
Platinum is ductile, meaning it can be drawn into wire while maintaining toughness and flexibility and without becoming brittle.
Platinum is malleable, meaning it can be reshaped and easily worked with without breaking. It can be alloyed with iridium or rhodium to become stronger and harder while maintaining the benefits of pure platinum.
Platinum is a lustrous (shiny), silvery-white metal and is highly resistant to corrosion and oxidation in moist air and does not tarnish or rust. Additionally, it is fairly resistant to deterioration by acids. It remains bright in appearance even after heating to high temperatures. Since it is so unreactive and stable, it is considered a noble metal. It can only be dissolved in fused alkalis or aqua regia (a mixture of nitric acid and hydrochloric acid that translates in Latin to "royal water").
Platinum has a relatively high melting temperature, roughly 1768.2°C or 3214.8°F
Platinum has catalytic properties, meaning it helps speed up chemical reactions, without being affected itself.
Table of Properties of Platinum
Element name:
Platinum
Chemical Symbol:
Pt
Atomic Number:
78
Atomic Weight:
195.084
Melting Point:
1768.2°C, 3214.8°F, 2041.4 K
Boiling Point:
3825°C, 6917°F, 4098 K
Density:
21.46 grams / cubic centimeter
Specific Gravity:
21.46
CAS Number:
7440-06-4
Schedule B No.
7110.19.0000 (Platinum semimanufactured)
Uses of Platinum
Because of the special properties of platinum, it has varied uses including the following.
Platinum Use in Medical Devices and Dentistry
Platinum can be used inside the body for biomedical uses. Its unreactivity makes it a good material to use for dental fillings, pacemakers, and surgical tools. Platinum-Iridium is used for surgical pins and for marker bands.
Platinum Use in Thermocouples and Resistance Thermometers
A thermocouple is a temperature-measuring device consisting of two different types of conductor wires. Platinum and Platinum-Rhodium thermocouples are a very stable type of thermocouple and can be used at high temperatures, up to 1800°C (3272°F), depending on the type of thermocouple.
Platinum-Rhodium and pure platinum thermo elements are covered by ASTM E1159, the Standard Specification for Thermocouple Materials, Platinum-Rhodium Alloys, and Platinum.
Type B thermocouples are made up of Platinum 70% / Rhodium 30% wire paired with Platinum 94% / Rhodium 6% wire, and can be used up to 1800°C (3272°F).
Type R thermocouples are made up of Platinum 87% / Rhodium 13% wire paired with Pure Platinum wire, and can be used up to 1600°C (2912°F).
Type S thermocouples are made up of Platinum 90% / Rhodium 10% wire paired with Pure Platinum wire, and can be used up to 1600°C (2912°F). Before 1990, Type S thermocouples were used as the standard international thermometers from 630°C to 1064°C.
Platinum resistance thermometers (aka resistance temperature detectors, or RTDs) are also used to measure temperatures. The platinum wire element is coiled around a core. The International Temperature Scale of 1990 (ITS-90) defines the temperatures ranging from −259°C to 962°C in terms of a platinum wire-based resistance thermometer.
Platinum Use in Scientific Equipment
Platinum can coat jet engine fuel nozzles and other devices that must operate reliably at sustained exposure to high temperatures. Platinum resistance wires are used in high temperature electric furnaces. Platinum anodes are used in cathodic protection systems to prevent ships, pipelines, and steel piers from corroding in salt water. Platinum is also used in lasers and photographic materials. It is also used for crucibles and dishes for heating materials to high temperatures.
Platinum Use in Electrical Components, Electrodes, and Electroplating
Platinum is used in the electronics industry for electrical contacts which might be subject to high temperatures, and it is used to manufacture electrodes and sparking points which might be subject to chemical attack of electric arcs. It is also used for electrical resistance wires.
Platinum Use in Catalytic Converters
One of platinum's main uses is in car exhaust catalytic converters, helping to reduce pollution by diminishing traffic fumes. In catalytic converters, a ceramic honeycomb is coated with platinum. Catalytic converters combine carbon monoxide (CO) and unburned fuel from a car's exhaust with oxygen from the air, forming the less harmful waste products carbon dioxide (CO2) and water vapor (H2O).
Platinum is also used as a catalyst in the production of sulfuric acid (H2SO4) and in the cracking of petroleum products. Fuel cells, devices that combine hydrogen and oxygen to produce electricity and water, also use platinum as a catalyst. Platinum is used in the chemicals industry as a catalyst for the production of nitric acid, silicone, and benzene.
Platinum Use in Jewelery
The ease with which platinum can be shaped, its inertness (chemical unreactivity), its wear-resistance, and its tarnish-resistance make it particularly suitable for fine jewelry.
Other Uses of Platinum
The glass industry uses platinum for optical fibers and liquid crystal display glass, especially for laptops. Platinum expands at roughly the same rate as soda-lime-silica glass, making it a good fit for sealed electrodes in glass systems.
Platinum is also used by the aerospace industry for spark plugs and turbine engines.
Pure Platinum vs Platinum Alloys
Surepure Chemetals sells pure Platinum as well as Platinum alloys, including Platinum-Iridium alloy and Platinum-Rhodium alloy. Pure platinum has higher conductivity. Platinum alloyed with Iridium is stronger while maintaining the benefits of pure platinum. As mentioned above, Platinum-Rhodium is often used in thermocouple wires. Surepure can also supply Platinum-Ruthenium alloy wire and Gold-Platinum alloy wire.
A 90% Platinum / 10% Iridium alloy bar was used as the official international definition of the meter from 1889 to 1960. Platinum-Iridium was chosen in part because of its resistance to wear. Since 1889, a 90/10 Platinum-Iridium cylinder has been used as the "international prototype kilogram." A kilogram is defined as the mass of that cylinder.
Buy Platinum Wire from Surepure Chemetals
Please buy online, or contact us to order by phone, fax, or email.
The products below are representative of what we sell. If you need a diameter, length, purity, or alloy not listed here, please
request a quote.
0.0004 in. / 0.010 mm Diameter Platinum Wire/Rod
0.0006 in. / 0.0152 mm / 54 gauge Diameter Platinum Wire/Rod
0.001 in. / 0.025 mm / 50 gauge Diameter Platinum Wire/Rod
0.002 in. / 0.051 mm / 44 gauge Diameter Platinum Wire/Rod
0.003 in. / 0.076 mm / 40 gauge Diameter Platinum Wire/Rod
0.0035 in. / 0.0889 mm / 39 gauge Diameter Platinum Wire/Rod
0.004 in. / 0.102 mm / 38 gauge Diameter Platinum Wire/Rod
0.005 in. / 0.127 mm / 36 gauge Diameter Platinum Wire/Rod
0.006 in. / 0.152 mm / 34 gauge Diameter Platinum Wire/Rod
0.007 in. / 0.178 mm / 33 gauge Diameter Platinum Wire/Rod
0.008 in. / 0.203 mm / 32 gauge Diameter Platinum Wire/Rod
0.009 in. / 0.229 mm / 31 gauge Diameter Platinum Wire/Rod
0.010 in. / 0.254 mm / 30 gauge Diameter Platinum Wire/Rod
0.011 in. / 0.279 mm Diameter Platinum Wire/Rod
0.012 in. / 0.305 mm Diameter Platinum Wire/Rod
0.0125 in. / 0.318 mm / 28 gauge Diameter Platinum Wire/Rod
0.013 in. / 0.330 mm / 28 gauge Diameter Platinum Wire/Rod
0.014 in. / 0.356 mm / 27 gauge Diameter Platinum Wire/Rod
0.015 in. / 0.381 mm Diameter Platinum Wire/Rod
0.016 in. / 0.406 mm / 26 gauge Diameter Platinum Wire/Rod
0.018 in. / 0.455 mm / 25 gauge Diameter Platinum Wire/Rod
0.020 in. / 0.5 mm / 24 gauge Diameter Platinum Wire/Rod
0.021 in. / 0.533 mm Diameter Platinum Wire/Rod
0.023 in. / 0.584 mm / 23 gauge Diameter Platinum Wire/Rod
0.0236 in. / 0.600 mm Diameter Platinum Wire/Rod
0.024 in. / 0.610 mm Diameter Platinum Wire/Rod
0.025 in. / 0.635 mm / 22 gauge Diameter Platinum Wire/Rod
0.030 in. / 0.762 mm Diameter Platinum Wire/Rod
0.031 in. / 0.787 mm Diameter Platinum Wire/Rod
0.0315 in. / 0.8 mm Diameter Platinum Wire/Rod
0.032 in. / 0.813 mm / 20 gauge Diameter Platinum Wire/Rod
0.036 in. / 0.914 mm / 19 gauge Diameter Platinum Wire/Rod
0.037 in. / 0.95 mm Diameter Platinum Wire/Rod
0.040 in. / 1.016 mm / 18 gauge Diameter Platinum Wire/Rod
0.045 in. / 1.143 mm / 17 gauge Diameter Platinum Wire/Rod
0.047 in. / 1.20 mm Diameter Platinum Wire/Rod
0.051 in. / 1.295 mm / 16 gauge Diameter Platinum Wire/Rod
0.059 in. / 1.50 mm Diameter Platinum Wire/Rod
0.063 in. / 1.6 mm / 14 gauge Diameter Platinum Wire/Rod
0.064 in. / 1.626 mm / 14 gauge Diameter Platinum Wire/Rod
0.070 in. / 1.778 mm Diameter Platinum Wire/Rod
0.078 in. / 1.98 mm Diameter Platinum Wire/Rod
0.081 in. / 2.057 mm / 12 gauge Diameter Platinum Wire/Rod
0.092 in. / 2.34 mm Diameter Platinum Wire/Rod
0.093 in. / 2.362 mm Diameter Platinum Wire/Rod
0.0985 in. / 2.5 mm Diameter Platinum Wire/Rod
0.102 in. / 2.591 mm / 10 gauge Diameter Platinum Wire/Rod
0.118 in. / 3.00 mm Diameter Platinum Wire/Rod
0.125 in. / 3.175 mm / 8 gauge Diameter Platinum Wire/Rod
0.128 in. / 3.251 mm / 8 gauge Diameter Platinum Wire/Rod
0.157 in. / 4.0 mm / 6 gauge Diameter Platinum Wire/Rod
0.375 in. / 9.53 mm Diameter Platinum Wire/Rod
0.390 in. / 9.90 mm / 0.99 cm Diameter Platinum Wire/Rod
0.433 in. / 11 mm / 1.1 cm Diameter Platinum Wire/Rod
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