Palladium is a molecular sponge for hydrogen. It can absorb 900 times its own volume of hydrogen gas — no other metal comes close. That is why palladium is a key material for future hydrogen technologies and membrane-based hydrogen purification.
But today, 85% of all palladium goes to the auto industry. Catalytic converters in gasoline engines turn carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrocarbons into harmless CO₂ and water. Between 2020 and 2022, palladium overtook gold in price, hitting $3,000 per ounce — driven by supply shortages and tightening emissions standards.
Palladium is a darling of the pharmaceutical industry. The Suzuki, Heck, and Negishi cross-coupling reactions (Nobel Prize 2010) all rely on palladium catalysts. Without them, manufacturing drugs would be far more expensive and complex.
In jewelry, palladium replaces nickel in white gold alloys — it's hypoallergenic and holds its white color without rhodium plating. And every smartphone contains roughly 0.015 g of palladium in its ceramic capacitors.
Metallic palladium is safe and biologically inert — it is even used in dental implants. However, palladium chloride (PdCl₂) can trigger skin allergies and asthma when inhaled. Palladium dust sensitizes the respiratory tract. Work with soluble palladium salts should be carried out in fume hoods with respiratory protection.
Palladium absorbs 900 times its own volume of hydrogen — like a molecular sponge. No other metal can match that.
Palladium was named after the asteroid Pallas, which had been discovered just a year before the element itself (1802 and 1803).
Between 2020 and 2022, palladium surpassed gold at $3,000 per ounce. The cause: strict emissions regulations for cars.
The 2010 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded for cross-coupling reactions using palladium catalysts (Suzuki, Heck, Negishi).
Every smartphone contains about 0.015 g of palladium in its capacitors. One billion phones add up to 15 tons of precious metal.
| Isotope | Mass (u) | Abundance | Half-life | Decay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
102Pd | 101.905609 | 1.02% | stable | — |
104Pd | 103.904036 | 11.14% | stable | — |
105Pd | 104.905085 | 22.33% | stable | — |
106Pd | 105.903486 | 27.33% | stable | — |
108Pd | 107.903892 | 26.46% | stable | — |
110Pd | 109.905153 | 11.72% | stable | — |
Analysis of platinum ore