Platinum is used extensively for jewellery: Improvements in and relating to platinum alloys (1922). Its main use, however, is in catalytic converters: Platinum Group Metal Catalysts (1975) for cars, trucks and buses.
Platinum is used in the chemicals industry as a catalyst for the production of:
- Nitric acid: Low-Platinum Catalyst For Ammonia Oxidation To Nitric Oxide (1972),
- Silicone: Platinum complexes for silicone compositions (1981), and
- Benzene: Improvements in or relating to the preparation of supported platinum metal catalysts (1951).
It is also used as a catalyst to improve the efficiency of fuel cells: Finely particulated colloidal platinum compound and sol for producing the same, and method of preparation of fuel cell electrodes and the like employing the same (1977).
The electronics industry uses platinum alloys for computer hard disk drives: Magnetic film, magnetic head of hard disk drive unit, and solid device (2006), and thermocouples: Platinum alloy thermocouple elements (1959).
Platinum is also used to make turbine blades:
- Coatings of intermetallic cpds. for metal substrates – where cpds. contain platinum metals and are suitable for turbine blades (1979),
- Spark plugs: Platinum base alloy and spark plug electrode (1947),
- Pacemakers: End cavity electrode for heart stimulator – has silicon electrode in cavity at tip of platinum tube which is held in finned exterior flexible tube (1980), and
- Dental fillings: Improvements in platinum alloys (1942).
Platinum compounds are important chemotherapy drugs used to treat cancers: Anti-tumor platinum complexes (1996).
References:
All patent information has been obtained from Espacenet (European Patent Office).