Rhodium | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pronunciation | /ˈroʊdiəm/ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Appearance | Silvery white metallic | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Standard atomic weight Ar°(Rh) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rhodium in the periodic table | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Atomic number (Z) | 45 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Group | group 9 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Period | period 5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Block | d-block | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Electron configuration | [ Kr ] 4d8 5s1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Electrons per shell | 2, 8, 18, 16, 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Physical properties | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Phase at STP | solid | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Melting point | 2237 K (1964 °C,3567 °F) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Boiling point | 3968 K(3695 °C,6683 °F) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Density (at 20° C) | 12.423 g/cm3 [3] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
when liquid (at m.p.) | 10.7 g/cm3 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Heat of fusion | 26.59 kJ/mol | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Heat of vaporization | 493 kJ/mol | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Molar heat capacity | 24.98 J/(mol·K) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Vapor pressure
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Atomic properties | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Oxidation states | common: +3 −3, [4] −1, [5] 0, [6] +1, [5] +2, [5] +4, [5] +5, [5] +6, [5] +7 [7] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Electronegativity | Pauling scale: 2.28 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ionization energies |
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Atomic radius | empirical:134 pm | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Covalent radius | 142±7 pm | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Spectral lines of rhodium | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Other properties | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Natural occurrence | primordial | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Crystal structure | face-centered cubic (fcc)(cF4) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Lattice constant | a = 380.34 pm (at 20 °C) [3] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Thermal expansion | 8.46×10−6/K (at 20 °C) [3] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Thermal conductivity | 150 W/(m⋅K) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Electrical resistivity | 43.3 nΩ⋅m(at 0 °C) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Magnetic ordering | paramagnetic [8] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Molar magnetic susceptibility | +111.0×10−6 cm3/mol(298 K) [9] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Young's modulus | 380 GPa | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Shear modulus | 150 GPa | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bulk modulus | 275 GPa | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Speed of sound thin rod | 4700 m/s(at 20 °C) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Poisson ratio | 0.26 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Mohs hardness | 6.0 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Vickers hardness | 1100–8000 MPa | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Brinell hardness | 980–1350 MPa | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
CAS Number | 7440-16-6 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
History | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Discovery and first isolation | William Hyde Wollaston (1804) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Isotopes of rhodium | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rhodium is a chemical element; it has symbol Rh and atomic number 45. It is a very rare, silvery-white, hard, corrosion-resistant transition metal. It is a noble metal and a member of the platinum group. It has only one naturally occurring isotope, which is 103Rh. Naturally occurring rhodium is usually found as a free metal or as an alloy with similar metals and rarely as a chemical compound in minerals such as bowieite and rhodplumsite. It is one of the rarest and most valuable precious metals. Rhodium is a group 9 element. (cobalt group)
Rhodium is found in platinum or nickel ores with the other members of the platinum group metals. It was discovered in 1803 by William Hyde Wollaston in one such ore, and named for the rose color of one of its chlorine compounds.
The element's major use (consuming about 80% of world rhodium production) is as one of the catalysts in the three-way catalytic converters in automobiles. Because rhodium metal is inert against corrosion and most aggressive chemicals, and because of its rarity, rhodium is usually alloyed with platinum or palladium and applied in high-temperature and corrosion-resistive coatings. White gold is often plated with a thin rhodium layer to improve its appearance, while sterling silver is often rhodium-plated to resist tarnishing.
Rhodium detectors are used in nuclear reactors to measure the neutron flux level. Other uses of rhodium include asymmetric hydrogenation used to form drug precursors and the processes for the production of acetic acid.
Rhodium (from Greek : ῥόδονrhodon, meaning 'rose') was discovered in 1803 by William Hyde Wollaston, [11] soon after he discovered palladium. [12] [13] [14] He used crude platinum ore presumably obtained from South America. [15] His procedure dissolved the ore in aqua regia and neutralized the acid with sodium hydroxide (NaOH). He then precipitated the platinum as ammonium chloroplatinate by adding ammonium chloride (NH
4Cl). Most other metals like copper, lead, palladium, and rhodium were precipitated with zinc. Diluted nitric acid dissolved all but palladium and rhodium. Of these, palladium dissolved in aqua regia but rhodium did not, [16] and the rhodium was precipitated by the addition of sodium chloride as Na
3[RhCl
6]·nH
2O. After being washed with ethanol, the rose-red precipitate was reacted with zinc, which displaced the rhodium in the ionic compound and thereby released the rhodium as free metal. [17]
For decades, the rare element had only minor applications; for example, by the turn of the century, rhodium-containing thermocouples were used to measure temperatures up to 1800 °C. [18] [19] They have exceptionally good stability in the temperature range of 1300 to 1800 °C. [20]
The first major application was electroplating for decorative uses and as corrosion-resistant coating. [21] The introduction of the three-way catalytic converter by Volvo in 1976 increased the demand for rhodium. The previous catalytic converters used platinum or palladium, while the three-way catalytic converter used rhodium to reduce the amount of NOx in the exhaust. [22] [23] [24]
Z | Element | No. of electrons/shell |
---|---|---|
27 | cobalt | 2, 8, 15, 2 |
45 | rhodium | 2, 8, 18, 16, 1 |
77 | iridium | 2, 8, 18, 32, 15, 2 |
109 | meitnerium | 2, 8, 18, 32, 32, 15, 2 (predicted) |
Rhodium is a hard, silvery, durable metal that has a high reflectance. Rhodium metal does not normally form an oxide, even when heated. [25] Oxygen is absorbed from the atmosphere only at the melting point of rhodium, but is released on solidification. [26] Rhodium has both a higher melting point and lower density than platinum. It is not attacked by most acids: it is completely insoluble in nitric acid and dissolves slightly in aqua regia.
Rhodium belongs to group 9 of the periodic table, but exhibits an atypical ground state valence electron configuration for that group. Like neighboring elements niobium (41), ruthenium (44), and palladium (46), it only has one electron in its outermost s orbital.
Oxidation states of rhodium | |
---|---|
+0 | Rh 4(CO) 12 |
+1 | RhCl(PH 3) 2 |
+2 | Rh 2(O 2CCH 3) 4 |
+3 | RhCl 3, Rh 2O 3 |
+4 | RhO 2 |
+5 | RhF 5, Sr 3LiRhO 6 |
+6 | RhF 6 |
The common oxidation states of rhodium are +3 and +1. Oxidation states 0, +2, and +4 are also well known. [27] A few complexes at still higher oxidation states are known. [28]
The rhodium oxides include Rh
2O
3 , RhO
2 , RhO
2·xH
2O, Na
2RhO
3, Sr
3LiRhO
6 and Sr
3NaRhO
6. [29] None are of technological significance.
All the Rh(III) halides are known but the hydrated trichloride is most frequently encountered. It is also available in an anhydrous form, which is somewhat refractory. Other rhodium(III) chlorides include sodium hexachlororhodate, Na3RhCl6, and pentaamminechlororhodium dichloride, [Rh(NH3)5Cl]Cl2. They are used in the recycling and purification of this very expensive metal. Heating a methanolic solution of hydrated rhodium trichloride with sodium acetate give the blue-green rhodium(II) acetate, Rh2(O2CCH3)4, which features a Rh-Rh bond. This complex and related rhodium(II) trifluoroacetate have attracted attention as catalysts for cyclopropanation reactions. Hydrated rhodium trichloride is reduced by carbon monoxide, ethylene, and trifluorophosphine to give rhodium(I) complexes Rh2Cl2L4 (L = CO, C2H4, PF3). When treated with triphenylphosphine, hydrated rhodium trichloride converts to the maroon-colored RhCl(P(C6H5)3)3, which is known as Wilkinson's catalyst. Reduction of rhodium carbonyl chloride gives hexarhodium hexadecacarbonyl, Rh6(CO)16, and tetrarhodium dodecacarbonyl, Rh4(CO)12, the two most common Rh(0) complexes.
As for other metals, rhodium forms high oxidation state binary fluorides. These include rhodium pentafluoride, a tetrameric complex with the true formula Rh4F20) and rhodium hexafluoride. [30]
Naturally occurring rhodium is composed of only one isotope, 103Rh. The most stable radioisotopes are 101Rh with a half-life of 3.3 years, 102Rh with a half-life of 207 days, 102mRh with a half-life of 2.9 years, and 99Rh with a half-life of 16.1 days. Twenty other radioisotopes have been characterized with atomic weights ranging from 92.926 u (93Rh) to 116.925 u (117Rh). Most of these have half-lives shorter than an hour, except 100Rh (20.8 hours) and 105Rh (35.36 hours). Rhodium has numerous meta states, the most stable being 102mRh (0.141 MeV) with a half-life of about 2.9 years and 101mRh (0.157 MeV) with a half-life of 4.34 days (see isotopes of rhodium). [31]
In isotopes weighing less than 103 (the stable isotope), the primary decay mode is electron capture and the primary decay product is ruthenium. In isotopes greater than 103, the primary decay mode is beta emission and the primary product is palladium. [32]
Rhodium is one of the rarest elements in the Earth's crust, comprising an estimated 0.0002 parts per million (2 × 10−10). [33] Its rarity affects its price and its use in commercial applications. The concentration of rhodium in nickel meteorites is typically 1 part per billion. [34] Rhodium has been measured in some potatoes with concentrations between 0.8 and 30 ppt. [35]
Rhodium ores are a mixture with other metals such as palladium, silver, platinum, and gold. Few rhodium minerals are known. The separation of rhodium from the other metals poses significant challenges. Principal sources are located in South Africa, river sands of the Ural Mountains in Russia, and in North America, especially the copper-nickel sulfide mining area of the Sudbury, Ontario, region. Although the rhodium abundance at Sudbury is very small, the large amount of processed nickel ore makes rhodium recovery cost-effective.
The main exporter of rhodium is South Africa (approximately 80% in 2010) followed by Russia. [36] The annual world production is 30 tonnes. The price of rhodium is highly variable.
Rhodium is a fission product of uranium-235: each kilogram of fission product contains a significant amount of the lighter platinum group metals. Used nuclear fuel is therefore a potential source of rhodium, but the extraction is complex and expensive, and the presence of rhodium radioisotopes requires a period of cooling storage for multiple half-lives of the longest-lived isotope (101Rh with a half-life of 3.3 years, and 102mRh with a half-life of 2.9 years), or about 10 years. These factors make the source unattractive and no large-scale extraction has been attempted. [37] [38] [39]
The primary use of this element is in automobiles as a catalytic converter, changing harmful unburned hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, and nitrogen oxide exhaust emissions into less noxious gases. Of 30,000 kg of rhodium consumed worldwide in 2012, 81% (24,300 kg) went into this application, and 8,060 kg was recovered from old converters. About 964 kg of rhodium was used in the glass industry, mostly for production of fiberglass and flat-panel glass, and 2,520 kg was used in the chemical industry. [36] [40]
In 2008, net demand (with the recycling accounted for) of rhodium for automotive converters made up 84% of the world usage, [41] with the number fluctuating around 80% in 2015−2021. [42]
Rhodium catalysts are used in some industrial processes, notably those involving carbon monoxide. In the Monsanto process, rhodium iodides catalyze the carbonylation of methanol to produce acetic acid. [43] This technology has been significantly displaced by the iridium-based Cativa process, which effects the same conversion but more efficiently. Rhodium-based complexes are the dominant catalysts for hydroformylation, which converts alkenes to aldehydes according to the following equation: [44] [45]
Rh-based hydroformylation underpins the industrial production of products as diverse as detergents, fragrances, and some drugs. Originally hydroformylation relied on much cheaper cobalt carbonyl-based catalysts, but that technology has largely been eclipsed by rhodium-based catalysts despite the cost differential.
Rhodium is also known to catalyze many reactions involving hydrogen gas and hydrosilanes. These include hydrogenations and hydrosilylations of alkenes. [46] Rhodium metal, but not rhodium complexes, catalyzes the hydrogenation of benzene to cyclohexane. [47]
Rhodium finds use in jewelry and for decorations. It is electroplated on white gold and platinum to give it a reflective white surface at time of sale, after which the thin layer wears away with use. This is known as rhodium flashing in the jewelry business. It may also be used in coating sterling silver to protect against tarnish (silver sulfide, Ag2S, produced from atmospheric hydrogen sulfide, H2S). Solid (pure) rhodium jewelry is very rare, more because of the difficulty of fabrication (high melting point and poor malleability) than because of the high price. [48] The high cost ensures that rhodium is applied only as an electroplate. Rhodium has also been used for honors or to signify elite status, when more commonly used metals such as silver, gold or platinum were deemed insufficient. In 1979 the Guinness Book of World Records gave Paul McCartney a rhodium-plated disc for being history's all-time best-selling songwriter and recording artist. [49]
Rhodium is used as an alloying agent for hardening and improving the corrosion resistance [25] of platinum and palladium. These alloys are used in furnace windings, bushings for glass fiber production, thermocouple elements, electrodes for aircraft spark plugs, and laboratory crucibles. [50] Other uses include:
In automobile manufacturing, rhodium is also used in the construction of headlight reflectors. [55]
Hazards | |
---|---|
GHS labelling: | |
H413 | |
P273, P501 [56] | |
NFPA 704 (fire diamond) |
Being a noble metal, pure rhodium is inert and harmless in elemental form. [57] However, chemical complexes of rhodium can be reactive. For rhodium chloride, the median lethal dose (LD50) for rats is 198 mg (RhCl
3) per kilogram of body weight. [58] Like the other noble metals, rhodium has not been found to serve any biological function.
People can be exposed to rhodium in the workplace by inhalation. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has specified the legal limit (Permissible exposure limit) for rhodium exposure in the workplace at 0.1 mg/m3 over an 8-hour workday, and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has set the recommended exposure limit (REL), at the same level. At levels of 100 mg/m3, rhodium is immediately dangerous to life or health. [59] For soluble compounds, the PEL and REL are both 0.001 mg/m3. [60]
Iridium is a chemical element; it has symbol Ir and atomic number 77. A very hard, brittle, silvery-white transition metal of the platinum group, it is considered the second-densest naturally occurring metal with a density of 22.56 g/cm3 (0.815 lb/cu in) as defined by experimental X-ray crystallography. 191Ir and 193Ir are the only two naturally occurring isotopes of iridium, as well as the only stable isotopes; the latter is the more abundant. It is one of the most corrosion-resistant metals, even at temperatures as high as 2,000 °C (3,630 °F).
Osmium is a chemical element; it has symbol Os and atomic number 76. It is a hard, brittle, bluish-white transition metal in the platinum group that is found as a trace element in alloys, mostly in platinum ores. Osmium is the densest naturally occurring element. When experimentally measured using X-ray crystallography, it has a density of 22.59 g/cm3. Manufacturers use its alloys with platinum, iridium, and other platinum-group metals to make fountain pen nib tipping, electrical contacts, and in other applications that require extreme durability and hardness.
Palladium is a chemical element; it has symbol Pd and atomic number 46. It is a rare and lustrous silvery-white metal discovered in 1802 by the English chemist 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. Palladium, platinum, rhodium, ruthenium, iridium and osmium form a group of elements referred to as the platinum group metals (PGMs). They have similar chemical properties, but palladium has the lowest melting point and is the least dense of them.
Platinum is a chemical element; it has symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish platina, a diminutive of plata "little silver".
Ruthenium is a chemical element; it has symbol Ru and atomic number 44. It is a rare transition metal belonging to the platinum group of the periodic table. Like the other metals of the platinum group, ruthenium is unreactive to most chemicals. Karl Ernst Claus, a Russian scientist of Baltic-German ancestry, discovered the element in 1844 at Kazan State University and named it in honor of Russia, using the Latin name Ruthenia. Ruthenium is usually found as a minor component of platinum ores; the annual production has risen from about 19 tonnes in 2009 to some 35.5 tonnes in 2017. Most ruthenium produced is used in wear-resistant electrical contacts and thick-film resistors. A minor application for ruthenium is in platinum alloys and as a chemistry catalyst. A new application of ruthenium is as the capping layer for extreme ultraviolet photomasks. Ruthenium is generally found in ores with the other platinum group metals in the Ural Mountains and in North and South America. Small but commercially important quantities are also found in pentlandite extracted from Sudbury, Ontario, and in pyroxenite deposits in South Africa.
Technetium is a chemical element; it has symbol Tc and atomic number 43. It is the lightest element whose isotopes are all radioactive. Technetium and promethium are the only radioactive elements whose neighbours in the sense of atomic number are both stable. All available technetium is produced as a synthetic element. Naturally occurring technetium is a spontaneous fission product in uranium ore and thorium ore, or the product of neutron capture in molybdenum ores. This silvery gray, crystalline transition metal lies between manganese and rhenium in group 7 of the periodic table, and its chemical properties are intermediate between those of both adjacent elements. The most common naturally occurring isotope is 99Tc, in traces only.
A period 5 element is one of the chemical elements in the fifth row of the periodic table of the chemical elements. The periodic table is laid out in rows to illustrate recurring (periodic) trends in the chemical behaviour of the elements as their atomic number increases: a new row is begun when chemical behaviour begins to repeat, meaning that elements with similar behaviour fall into the same vertical columns. The fifth period contains 18 elements, beginning with rubidium and ending with xenon. As a rule, period 5 elements fill their 5s shells first, then their 4d, and 5p shells, in that order; however, there are exceptions, such as rhodium.
A noble metal is ordinarily regarded as a metallic element that is generally resistant to corrosion and is usually found in nature in its raw form. Gold, platinum, and the other platinum group metals are most often so classified. Silver, copper, and mercury are sometimes included as noble metals, but each of these usually occurs in nature combined with sulfur.
Precious metals are rare, naturally occurring metallic chemical elements of high economic value. Precious metals, particularly the noble metals, are more corrosion resistant and less chemically reactive than most elements. They are usually ductile and have a high lustre. Historically, precious metals were important as currency but they are now regarded mainly as investment and industrial raw materials. Gold, silver, platinum, and palladium each have an ISO 4217 currency code.
Hydrogenation is a chemical reaction between molecular hydrogen (H2) and another compound or element, usually in the presence of a catalyst such as nickel, palladium or platinum. The process is commonly employed to reduce or saturate organic compounds. Hydrogenation typically constitutes the addition of pairs of hydrogen atoms to a molecule, often an alkene. Catalysts are required for the reaction to be usable; non-catalytic hydrogenation takes place only at very high temperatures. Hydrogenation reduces double and triple bonds in hydrocarbons.
The platinum-group metals (PGMs), also known as the platinoids, platinides, platidises, platinum group, platinum metals, platinum family or platinum-group elements (PGEs), are six noble, precious metallic elements clustered together in the periodic table. These elements are all transition metals in the d-block.
Group 7, numbered by IUPAC nomenclature, is a group of elements in the periodic table. It contains manganese (Mn), technetium (Tc), rhenium (Re) and bohrium (Bh). This group lies in the d-block of the periodic table, and are hence transition metals. This group is sometimes called the manganese group or manganese family after its lightest member; however, the group itself has not acquired a trivial name because it belongs to the broader grouping of the transition metals.
Group 9, by modern IUPAC numbering, is a group (column) of chemical elements in the d-block of the periodic table. Members of Group 9 include cobalt (Co), rhodium (Rh), iridium (Ir) and meitnerium (Mt). These elements are among the rarest of the transition metals.
Group 10, numbered by current IUPAC style, is the group of chemical elements in the periodic table that consists of nickel (Ni), palladium (Pd), platinum (Pt), and darmstadtium (Ds). All are d-block transition metals. All known isotopes of darmstadtium are radioactive with short half-lives, and are not known to occur in nature; only minute quantities have been synthesized in laboratories.
Rhodium(III) chloride refers to inorganic compounds with the formula RhCl3(H2O)n, where n varies from 0 to 3. These are diamagnetic red-brown solids. The soluble trihydrated (n = 3) salt is the usual compound of commerce. It is widely used to prepare compounds used in homogeneous catalysis.
Natural palladium (46Pd) is composed of six stable isotopes, 102Pd, 104Pd, 105Pd, 106Pd, 108Pd, and 110Pd, although 102Pd and 110Pd are theoretically unstable. The most stable radioisotopes are 107Pd with a half-life of 6.5 million years, 103Pd with a half-life of 17 days, and 100Pd with a half-life of 3.63 days. Twenty-three other radioisotopes have been characterized with atomic weights ranging from 90.949 u (91Pd) to 128.96 u (129Pd). Most of these have half-lives that are less than 30 minutes except 101Pd, 109Pd, and 112Pd.
Nanomaterial-based catalysts are usually heterogeneous catalysts broken up into metal nanoparticles in order to enhance the catalytic process. Metal nanoparticles have high surface area, which can increase catalytic activity. Nanoparticle catalysts can be easily separated and recycled. They are typically used under mild conditions to prevent decomposition of the nanoparticles.
Organorhodium chemistry is the chemistry of organometallic compounds containing a rhodium-carbon chemical bond, and the study of rhodium and rhodium compounds as catalysts in organic reactions.
Rhodium-platinum oxide , or Nishimura's catalyst, is an inorganic compound used as a hydrogenation catalyst.
In organometallic chemistry, the activation of cyclopropanes by transition metals is a research theme with implications for organic synthesis and homogeneous catalysis. Being highly strained, cyclopropanes are prone to oxidative addition to transition metal complexes. The resulting metallacycles are susceptible to a variety of reactions. These reactions are rare examples of C-C bond activation. The rarity of C-C activation processes has been attributed to Steric effects that protect C-C bonds. Furthermore, the directionality of C-C bonds as compared to C-H bonds makes orbital interaction with transition metals less favorable. Thermodynamically, C-C bond activation is more favored than C-H bond activation as the strength of a typical C-C bond is around 90 kcal per mole while the strength of a typical unactivated C-H bond is around 104 kcal per mole.