Published by Johnson Matthey Plc A quarterly journal of research on the science and technology of the platinum group metals and developments in their application in industry Vol 58 Issue 1 January 2014 www.platinummetalsreview.com E-ISSN 1471-0676 © Copyright 2014 Johnson Matthey http://www.platinummetalsreview.com/ Platinum Metals Review is published by Johnson Matthey Plc. All rights are reserved. Material from this publication may be reproduced for personal use only but may not be offered for re-sale or incorporated into, reproduced on, or stored in any website, electronic retrieval system, or in any other publication, whether in hard copy or electronic form, without the prior written permission of Johnson Matthey. Any such copy shall retain all copyrights and other proprietary notices, and any disclaimer contained thereon, and must acknowledge Platinum Metals Review and Johnson Matthey as the source. No warranties, representations or undertakings of any kind are made in relation to any of the content of this publication including the accuracy, quality or fi tness for any purpose by any person or organisation. E-ISSN 1471-0676 •Platinum Metals Rev., 2014, 58, (1), 1• Platinum Metals Review A quarterly journal of research on the platinum group metals and developments in their application in industry http://www.platinummetalsreview.com/ JANUARY 2014 VOL. 58 NO. 1 Contents Platinum Metals Review is Changing in 2014 2 An editorial by Sara Coles Focused Ion Beam and Nanomechanical Tests for High Resolution 3 Surface Characterisation: New Resources for Platinum Group Metals Testing By Marco Sebastiani, Marco Renzelli, Paolo Battaini and Edoardo Bemporad High Temperature Thermomechanical Properties of 20 Titanium-Rhodium-based Alloys Containing Scandium By Yurii V. Kudriavtsev and Elena L. Semenova EuropaCat XI 31 A conference review by Silvia Alcove Clave, Francesco Dolci, Peter R. Ellis and Cristina Estruch Bosch The Discoverers of the Isotopes of the Platinum Group of Elements: 38 Update 2014 By John W. Arblaster PGMs in the Lab: Platinum Group Metals in Polyoxometalates 40 Featuring Ulrich Kortz Publications in Brief 43 Abstracts 46 Patents 50 Final Analysis: Effects of Platinum Group Metals Doping 54 on Stainless Steels By Andrew Fones and Gareth D. Hatton Editorial Team: Sara Coles (Assistant Editor); Ming Chung (Editorial Assistant); Scott Turnbull (Scientifi c Information Assistant) Platinum Metals Review, Johnson Matthey Plc, Orchard Road, Royston, Hertfordshire SG8 5HE, UK Email: [email protected] 1 © 2014 Johnson Matthey http://dx.doi.org/10.1595/147106714X677955 •Platinum Metals Rev., 2014, 58, (1), 2• Editorial Platinum Metals Review is Changing in 2014 Platinum Metals Review, Johnson Matthey’s journal will still be free to access and free to publish; all of of research on the science and technology of the the costs are absorbed by Johnson Matthey as part platinum group metals (pgms) and developments of its service to the community. in their application in industry, has a long and On behalf of Johnson Matthey I would like to proud history having been published by Johnson thank all of Platinum Metals Review’s readers, Matthey since 1957 – continuous publication for 58 authors, reviewers, Editorial Board members and years. other stakeholders for your input over the years From mid-2014, regular readers will see changes, not and I hope that you will be interested in continuing least of which will be to the name of the journal: your contribution to the success of the journal in Platinum Metals Review will become the Johnson future. Matthey Technology Review. Please look out for further announcements, This change refl ects our intention to cover a including the wider range of topics which we will much wider range of technologies than at present. begin to cover, via our website, Twitter, email and in Today, Johnson Matthey is more than just a precious the next issue of the journal. We hope you are as metals company, with interests which extend to excited as we are about this opportunity to greatly base metal catalysis, products for pharmaceutical expand the range of subjects that will fi nd a home, and medical applications and battery materials, and an interested audience, in the Johnson Matthey among others. These technologies will also begin Technology Review. to feature in future issues of the journal alongside pgms, which remain indispensable for so many SARA COLES, Assistant Editor applications and processes. The format of a peer-reviewed scientifi c journal, Platinum Metals Review which has worked well for us in the past, will remain as it is important to maintain a high quality Contact Information publication that our readers will want to read and Johnson Matthey Plc cite. Orchard Road We welcome and encourage submissions from all Royston who are working in fi elds of interest to the journal, Hertfordshire which is provided as a service to the community SG8 5HE who work with pgm and now, non-pgm science and UK technology in a range of relevant fi elds. The journal Email: [email protected] 2 © 2014 Johnson Matthey •Platinum Metals Rev., 2014, 58,(1),3–19• Focused Ion Beam and Nanomechanical Tests for High Resolution Surface Characterisation: New Resources for Platinum Group Metals Testing Use of two high resolution techniques allows process optimisation and prediction of in-service behaviour http://dx.doi.org/10.1595/147106714X675768 http://www.platinummetalsreview.com/ By Marco Sebastiani and Marco Renzelli Recently, the increasing importance and scope of nanotechnology has extended the need for high University of Rome “Roma Tre” Engineering Department, resolution characterisation tools beyond their traditional Via della Vasca Navale 79, 00146 Rome, Italy domains. As a consequence, advanced high-resolution tools at the nanoscale are now increasingly used in research and development (R&D) activities, offering the Paolo Battaini chance for a better understanding of submicron feature 8853 SpA Via Pitagora 11, I-20016 Pero, Milano, Italy size dependence. This paper gives an overview of the synergic application of two high resolution techniques on the platinum group metals (pgms): focused ion beam Edoardo Bemporad* (FIB) coupled with electron beam imaging, milling and deposition techniques; and nanoindentation testing. University of Rome “Roma Tre” Engineering Department, Via della Vasca Navale 79, 00146 Rome, Italy After a brief description of both techniques (architecture, probe-sample interaction basics and operation *Email: [email protected] modes), the effectiveness of this combined approach is demonstrated for microstructural and nanomechanical investigations on very small samples. The advantages are low cost, fast and site-specific sample preparation for transition electron microscopy (TEM) analysis; study of the mechanical hardening effect on microstructure and hardness profile at the micron scale; failure analysis; and understanding of plasticity and elasticity behaviour. Two specific case studies related to a platinum-copper alloy for jewellery use and a platinum-rhodium alloy for sensor manufacturing are presented and discussed. 1. Introduction The structural characterisation of engineered surfaces is of increasing importance due to the growing application of surface modification processes and coating techniques, which are usually applied to improve either mechanical or functional surface performance. Some examples include surface hardness, load bearing capacity, impact bearing capacity, wear resistance, specific surface area (related to surface free energy and chemical reactivity), 3 © 2014 Johnson Matthey http://dx.doi.org/10.1595/147106714X675768 •Platinum Metals Rev., 2014, 58,(1)• electrical resistivity, thermal conductivity and ‘smart’ Moreover, some analysis on cross-sections and even optical properties (1). TEM lamellae extraction are virtually nondestructive, The development of nanostructured materials and as the sample size required is just a few cubic microns. the increasing use of nanosystems and nanostructures In this paper, two examples are outlined to show how make the use of advanced procedures for nanoscale the combined use of nanomechanical testing and high mechanical characterisation necessary to understand resolution microscopy can help gain understanding of chemical and physical phenomena at this scale (2). the processing mechanisms and in-service behaviour The in-service macroscale mechanical behaviour of components. In particular: of micro- and nanocrystalline metals (for example, y Cross-section cut-and-view for rapid their fracture and plastic deformation behaviour) is microstructural investigation (grain size and strictly related to the complex interactions between inclusions) on very small samples without any the different micro- and nanostructural features sample preparation or preprocessing (dualbeam) (for example dislocation sources, grain boundaries y Low cost, fast and site-specific sample preparation and nanoscale porosity). These latter aspects are for TEM analysis (dualbeam) particularly critical in the advanced metallurgy of y Deformation mechanisms at the nanoscale pgms alloys, where the actual role of phase transitions, (dualbeam and nanoindentation) the microstructural evolution of interfaces during y Mechanical hardening effect on microstructure processing and the correlation with their mechanical and hardness profile at the micron scale properties are not yet completely understood. (dualbeam and nanoindentation) The in-service performance of such materials