Osmium

   Osmium - a transition metal belonging to the platinum group of metals, designated by the symbol in the periodic table of chemical elements Os, It is a chemical element with atomic number 76. Along with iridium, it has the highest density of all the elementary substances. It is silvery-white in color with a bluish tint. It was discovered relatively recently, in 1803, by an English chemist in a precipitate of platinum dissolved in aqua regia. Osmium It is obtained by isolating platinum metals from enriched raw materials. For this purpose, this concentrate is calcined in air at a temperature of 800-900⁰ WITH.

Osmium metal

In the earth's crust osmium Occurs as solid solutions with iridium, which contain 10-50 % of osmium. Osmium can be found in polymetallic ores containing platinum and palladium, as well as in platinum minerals and waste products from the processing of gold-bearing ores. The former form dense white, light-gray plate-like crystals with a hardness of 6.7 on the Mohs scale. This mineral has a high osmium content, ranging from 21 to 49.3%. The mineral is gray crystals of a hexagonal structure, with a hardness of 6 on the Mohs scale and a density of 17,800-22,500 kg/m3.³Most often, iridium containing osmium is part of native platinum, but sometimes these minerals occur independently.

Properties of osmium

Properties of osmium have fairly high strength and hardness characteristics of the metal. Its density is 22.587 g/cm³, melting point 3033⁰C, and boiling point 5012⁰C. Osmium is a hard but brittle metal with a very high specific gravity. Physical and mechanical properties of osmium Because of its difficult processing, it is considered the densest of all simple substances, even denser than iridium. Its high density is due to lanthanide compression and a hexagonal, close-packed crystal lattice. Chemically, osmium in powder form reacts with oxygen, sulfur vapor, selenium, halogens, and other elements when heated. Compact osmium does not react with acids or alkalis. Osmium reacts slowly with nitric acid and aqua regia.

Properties of osmium, such as hardness and high refractoriness, allow:

• use it as a coating in friction units to provide wear resistance;
• osmium serves as a very good catalyst for the synthesis of ammonia, as well as the hydrogenation of organic compounds;
• The alloy is used to make the filament in a lamp.

Properties of osmium They are useful in electronic equipment, aircraft engineering, rocketry, and the military industry, including for the manufacture of homing missiles. Osmium-platinum alloys are widely used in surgical implants and pacemakers.

   Osmium It is valued very highly, as its annual production is only a few kilograms, about 600. However, the costs are very high: one gram costs between $1,500 and $40,000. Price The value of the isotope "osmium-187" is $200,000 per gram. As you can see, osmium is a precious metal, although it is not used for jewelry. This metal truly deserves attention.