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Platinum Group Elements

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Encyclopedia of Geochemistry

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series ((EESS))

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Definition

The Platinum Group Elements (PGE: Osmium, Iridium, Ruthenium, Rhodium, Platinum, and Palladium), also known as platinum group metals and platinoids, are transition metals located in the d-block of the Periodic Table of Elements (Groups VIII, IX, and X, Periods 5 and 6). The atomic radii of the Os, Ir, and Pt subgroup, caused by the lanthanide contraction of the 4f group elements, are similar to those of the Ru, Rh, Pd subgroup of the PGE. The almost doubling of the number of nucleons with the same atomic radii makes Os, Ir, and Pt the densest elements on Earth. Based on their behavior in magmatic systems, the PGE are subdivided into the iridium-group PGE (Ir-PGE: Os, Ir, Ru, Rh) and the palladium-group PGE (Pd-PGE: Pt, Pd) (Barnes et al. 1985; Barnes 1999).

Introduction

The PGE were discovered in the eighteenth through early nineteenth centuries by Lewis (1753, 1757), Tennant (1804), and Wollaston (1805); a detailed account of the history of the PGE can be found in McDonald...

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA

    Igor S. Puchtel

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  1. Igor S. Puchtel
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Correspondence to Igor S. Puchtel .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA

    William M. White

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Puchtel, I.S. (2018). Platinum Group Elements. In: White, W.M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Geochemistry. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-39312-4_274

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