Rhodium

Rhodium is a chemical element with symbol Rh and atomic number 45. It is a rare, silvery-white, hard, and chemically inert transition metal. It is a member of the platinum group. It has only one naturally occurring isotope, ¹⁰³Rh. Naturally occurring rhodium is usually found as the free metal, alloyed with similar metals, and rarely as a chemical compound in minerals such as bowieite and rhodplumsite. It is one of the rarest and most valuable precious metals.

Rhodium is a noble metal, resistant to corrosion, found in platinum- or nickel ores together with the other members of the platinum group metals. It was discovered in 1803 by William Hyde Wollaston in one such ore, and named for the rose color of one of its chlorine compounds, produced after it reacted with the powerful acid mixture aqua regia.

The element's major use (approximately 80% of world rhodium production) is as one of the catalysts in the three-way catalytic converters in automobiles. Because rhodium metal is inert against corrosion and most aggressive chemicals, and because of its rarity, rhodium is usually alloyed with platinum or palladium and applied in high-temperature and corrosion-resistive coatings. White gold is often plated with a thin rhodium layer to improve its appearance while sterling silver is often rhodium-plated for tarnish resistance.

Isotopes of rhodium

Naturally occurring rhodium (Rh) is composed of only one stable isotope, ¹⁰³Rh. The most stable radioisotopes are ¹⁰¹Rh with a half-life of 3.3 years, ¹⁰²Rh with a half-life of 207 days, and ⁹⁹Rh with a half-life of 16.1 days. Thirty other radioisotopes have been characterized with atomic weights ranging from 88.949 u (⁸⁹Rh) to 121.943 u (¹²²Rh). Most of these have half-lifes that are less than an hour except ¹⁰⁰Rh (half-life: 20.8 hours) and ¹⁰⁵Rh (half-life: 35.36 hours). There are also numerous meta states with the most stable being ^102mRh (0.141 MeV) with a half-life of about 3.7 years and ^101mRh (0.157 MeV) with a half-life of 4.34 days.

The primary decay mode before the only stable isotope, ¹⁰³Rh, is electron capture and the primary mode after is beta emission. The primary decay product before ¹⁰³Rh is ruthenium and the primary product after is palladium.
Relative atomic mass: 102.90550(2).

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