Dissolving $1000 of Platinum to Make $6000 of Chloroplatinic Acid for Professional Use

In this video we dissolve a one troy ounce platinum bar in aqua regia and then process that and make ampules of chloroplatinic acid.

My previous videos on dissolving platinum:

First we meticulously clean the beakers and condensing flask by first pyrolyzing them in an oven at 500 celsius for 24 hours. This destroys any residual organics. Then we boil dilute aqua regia in them to remove lingering inorganic residues. One troy ounce of platinum is then dissolved over 2 days using aqua regia in that beaker. Once it's dissolved it's boiled for another day to decompose any remaining nitric acid. The chloroplatinic acid solution is then evaporated down to less than 80mL and carefully pipetted into ampules. The ampules are then dried in mason jar desiccators over several weeks before finally being flame sealed. To ensure safety the ampules are soaked in sodium metabisulfite solution to remove any possible contamination of chloroplatinic acid and then labelled. They are vacuum sealed into plastic bags for shipping

Donate to NurdRage!

Use the discount code "nurdrage" for a 5% discount.

[NurdRage]

I'm thinking of maybe doing Palladium Chloride from palladium in the future. I'm currently discussing it with my friends and seeing if any if them would commission it. If enough agree to cover the costs of chemicals, i'll do it.

[redmuscle]

"People with money don't care for the opinions of people with brains" might be the best axiom I've heard all year.

[erich.]

NR: "My lab is a mess"
Me, and Extractions and Ire viewer: "It's basically spotless"

[TheLowstef]

As a physicist, I have to take my hat off to chemists. Yes, it is "just quantum mechanics of the last electron orbital" but it is also sooo much more. There is art, there is (immense, and I do mean IMMENSE) skill. Yes, in fundamental physics we do ten-decimal-places precision, but we mostly do it by trowing 10-digit sums of money at it (or more). For a 1% precision in physics you'd need to spend 5-6 digits, at least. And here we get 1% with the most expensive equipment being a $1-2k scale. Well, that and the training and skill of the experimenter. Who is worth his weight in gold. Probably literally. And I mean properly literally.

[ChristianMiersch]

Fellow lab clerk here - so satisfying to watch someone doing a perfect job! Why can I only give one like?

[instazx]

10:30 - "but i'm short on $1000 platinum bars". well sir what ELSE are you doing with my $2/mo Patreon subscription? hmm?

[andersjjensen]

This, ladies and gentlemen, is what Exquisite Tier Chemtube looks like: Proper method description, excellent context narration, relevant footage, a perfectly measured amount of anhydrous jokes and stabs to make sure they are not in excess of requirements, all rounded off with a few drops of The Power of Friendship in strong solution before the final neat wrap-up and mike drop.

I honestly don't give a rats ass what you do at this point. It's so much more your personal style and delivery that has me hooked. If I wanted boring chemistry I can just grab the rubber bible off my shelf....

[seeigecannon]

Pro tip for precision balances, it won't quite apply to the one you are using, but if a more precise balance is used it is important: Get an anti-static gun (we use a Milty Zerostat 3). When handling glassware it will accumulate a static charge. When you put the glassware on a balance and close the door the reading will take a very long time to settle and will drift because the static field is changing which changes how much weight it is applying to the balance. Hitting it with the anti-static gun drains the static field away and allows the balance to settle faster and reduces drift by a lot. Some of these balances also have an option for either an automated electric ionizer or a pellet of Americium (same element used in ionizing smoke detectors) to emit alpha radiation to drain the static field.

I was actually a bit upset when my manager finally told me about this (I thought the gun had something to do with the HPLC vials lol) because I spent a day trying to figure out what was wrong with our balance. When I would put a volumetric flask on it the reading would just keep on drifting. After a few minutes it would be a couple mg off of what it used to read. I was putting test weights on it, and even left a test weight overnight, and the readings were always perfect. My boss then told me about the effect a static field has on the glassware and showed me the anti-static gun. Sure wish he told me about that a year earlier lol.

[stevengill]

I worked at a company that made Adam's catalyst (PtO2) that was used for hydrogenation. We started with an ounce of platinum wire (about $300 back in 1977) and as you described dissolved in in aqua regia, then precipitated the ammonium salt with NH4OH. This was mixed with sodium nitrate and fused - after copious clouds of NO2 were evolved, you're left with PtO2 in sodium chloride, which is crushed and dissolved in water. The Adam's catalyst is filtered, washed and dried.
You can use it as a catalyst until exhausted, then dissolve it in aqua regia all over again.
We did that a lot. So easy to make, can't imagine how it costs so much. I'm astonished that platinum is still so cheap....leas than a thousand an ounce, which considering how much of it comes from Russia is pretty amazing.

[mementomori]

"I'm not actually selling these for money, I'm actually trading these for other chemicals I have difficulty getting, as well as future favors and good will. OK enough about basic economics..."

[hibbinggoodhue]

The chloroplatinic acid is undoubtedly for Karstedt's catalyst, an important component for hydrosilylation. The reason they require a precise amount is because they don't have SEM-EDX or ICP-OES to assay the final % Pt, instead they can just have high confidence that they made the target %.

[RangerOfTheOrder]

4:30 Oh my God! Thank you! I've taken 3 chemistry classes, and recently finished my engineering degree, and in all that time, no one ever explained why we needed to use weigh boats on the scale!

[MrBadclyde]

As someone that manufactures semiconductor grade stannous salts, your glassware is cleaner than mine.
Thanks for the tips on cleaning, oxidizing heat never occurred to me, I always went straight to the aqua regia.

[r.b.ratieta]

I discovered you in 2014, and I can't believe it's already been ten years of watching you on and off.

You and other channels have helped fuel and augment my curiosity and love for chemistry.

[DanoKaroche]

From a fellow chemist who you took the time to give a few tips for recovering Pt from lab waste around 10 years ago, it is still awesome to see you working, my man. Great video!

[Arinx]

I have no need for this process, and I will never perform this synthesis or process, but I still enjoy watching this and find it fascinating.

[icarus]

Honestly my jaw dropped when you laid out all the sealed, labelled ampules at the end for display. That looks so god damn professional - I love it! You've pretty much made an artisanal style chemistry Christmas present that wouldn't look out of place in a chic small town apothecary that sells fancy soaps and tinctures. Only it contains a highly expensive and dangerous chemical instead of cherry-scented shea butter. I'm impressed! And c'mon...you can barely even see any misalignment in the labels. Don't even worry about it, lol
*Chef's kiss*

[johnbird-csys]

I greatly appreciate you showing the extra steps to have a more pure and reliable product. Title is a lot less click baity than the original.

[joendreever]

I work for Sigma-Aldrich, now a part of Millipore-Sigma... always nice to hear the company being mentioned

[GoldenAura]

This is the type of semi-professional basement amature chemistry that I find incredibly entertaining.