Sciencemadness Discussion Board

Making potassium chloroplatinate from platinum chloride (aq)

silvergrahm - 20-1-2013 at 11:16

Some of you may have seen that I am selling platinum chloride in the reagent acquisition section. If someone is interested, by all means U2U me. But it looks like that reagent may be difficult to sell, and if that's the case I'd like to do something with it.

I'm hoping members can guide me through how I might prepare potassium chloroplatinate from the about 15ml of 10% aqueous solution of platinum chloride that I have.

I have no formal training in chemistry, but I've got my textbook right here and I'm learning fast. I have access to quite a few chems and have some glassware.

Thank you.

blogfast25 - 20-1-2013 at 11:23

Quote: Originally posted by silvergrahm  
Some of you may have seen that I am selling platinum chloride in the reagent acquisition section. If someone is interested, by all means U2U me. But it looks like that reagent may be difficult to sell, and if that's the case I'd like to do something with it.

I'm hoping members can guide me through how I might prepare potassium chloroplatinate from the about 15ml of 10% aqueous solution of platinum chloride that I have.

I have no formal training in chemistry, but I've got my textbook right here and I'm learning fast. I have access to quite a few chems and have some glassware.

Thank you.


K2PtCl6 is supposed to be more or less insoluble in 85 % alcohol, the basis of an old gravimetric determination of K.

I suppose that if you add a stoichiometric amount of KCl to your solution, then add alcohol to reach 85 %, most of the K2PtCl6 should drop out.

Fleaker - 21-1-2013 at 16:59

Dissolve the PtCl2 concentrated HCl and hydrogen peroxide, make into a syrup and add 10% excess of the theoretical amount of KCl. It will immediately form a yellow crystalline compound. This can be driven further from solution by the addition of ethyl or propyl alcohol. The heavy yellow mass can then be filtered on a glass frit and washed clean with cold ethanol.

silvergrahm - 26-1-2013 at 16:12

Ok, update. I do not have platinum chloride. The bottle is labeled platinum chloride, but the formula given (H2PtCl6) is for chloroplatinic acid. So, it is the acid. Maybe the common name changed over the years

I'm still interested in how to make this into potassium tetrachloroplatinate, or, if I do not have the materials for that, elemental platinum.

Thank you.

[Edited on 27-1-2013 by silvergrahm]

hyfalcon - 27-1-2013 at 02:52

Why? The chemical you have is quiet usable as is. Add a reducing agent and spray it on prepared titanium substrate and then bake it at 400C. You will then have a workable perchlorate anode.

silvergrahm - 27-1-2013 at 03:07

Quote: Originally posted by hyfalcon  
Why? The chemical you have is quiet usable as is. Add a reducing agent and spray it on prepared titanium substrate and then bake it at 400C. You will then have a workable perchlorate anode.


If no one wants to buy it from me, I'd like to use it for photography, platinum printing.

Zephyr - 23-10-2013 at 12:14

Sorry, i couldn't find your post in the reagent acquisition section. How much are you selling the Chloroplatinic Acid for?
The potassium tetrachloroplatinate you are interested in making is a useful precursor to the famous cancer fighting drug Cisplatinum.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucWHB0Ea6cE

Fleaker - 23-11-2013 at 13:24

Brauer has excellent synthesis for that salt (I think in second volume). Remember to save all the liquors for cementation with clean zinc or iron turnings so that you may recover the platinum.