Palladium (Pd)

Palladium is a rare and lustrous silvery-white metal discovered in 1803 by William Hyde Wollaston.

Core Principles & Analysis

• William Hyde Wollaston discovered palladium in 1803 and named it after the recently found asteroid Pallas.
• The metal can absorb up to about 900 times its own volume of hydrogen gas at room temperature.
• Palladium is essential in catalytic converters and in the cross-coupling catalysts recognized by the 2010 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

Specifications & Metrics

• NUM: 46
• SYMBOL: Pd
• CATEGORY: Transition Metal
• ATOMIC MASS: 106.42 u
• ELECTRONEGATIVITY: 2.2 Pauling
• ATOMIC RADIUS: 202 pm
• IONIZATION ENERGY: 8.337 eV
• ELECTRON AFFINITY: 0.557 eV
• MELTING POINT: 1828.05 K
• BOILING POINT: 3236 K
• DENSITY: 12 g/cm³
• ELECTRON CONFIGURATION: [Kr]4d10
• OXIDATION STATES: +3, +2
• STANDARD STATE: Solid
• GROUP BLOCK: Transition metal
• YEAR DISCOVERED: 1803