Palladium vs Platinum
Palladium and Platinum are genuine alternatives to one another — a choice somebody actually makes — and differ on 5 measured properties, density most clearly.
Palladium vs Platinum
Palladium
Pd
The catalytic metal that cleans petrol engine exhaust, absorbs hydrogen like a sponge, and briefly became more valuable than gold.
Platinum
Pt
A metal too refractory for the Spanish to melt, discarded as an impurity in silver, and now central to catalysis.
| Property | Palladium | Platinum |
|---|---|---|
| Atomic number | 46 | 78 higher |
| Density | 12.02 g/cm³ | 21.45 g/cm³ higher |
| Electrical conductivity Only one of the two has a figure we can stand behind, so there is nothing to compare. | Not known | 9.4 MS/m |
| Melting point | 1555 °C | 1768 °C higher |
| Mohs hardness Mohs hardness is an ordinal scale: values can be ranked, but differences and ratios between them are not meaningful. | about 4.75 higher | about 3.5 |
| Molar mass | 106.42 g/mol | 195.084 g/mol higher |
Choosing between them
Palladium is recorded as a substitute for Platinum — cheaper.
What it gives up: Works in petrol exhaust and not in diesel, and the price advantage has repeatedly reversed.
In this application, on the evidence cited above.