About Platinum

Heating/Cooling Information

Platinum crucibles are soft at room temperature, deformation increases between 700°C – 1000°C as the temperature increases.

Recommended maximum process temperature 1200°C.

During heating and cooling platinum crucibles only handle or touch with either platinum tipped or ceramic coated instruments/surfaces.

It is immune to sterilising solutions, most of the organic chemicals, dyestuffs and a wide variety of inorganic chemicals.

Notes

Platinum crucibles can become damaged, decay or fail:

• With low melting point metals such as tin, antimony and bismuth.
• Using unknown compounds, heated for first time.
• Heating in presence of carbon yellow flame – always use oxygen rich oxidising flame.
• When associated with following elements, silicone, lead, antimony and phosphorus, which may be airborne or nearby during heating.
• With sulphur.
• There are evaporation losses of platinum, even at room temperature a film of platinum oxide builds up, elevated temperatures oxidisation accelerates evaporating in use.
• Heating crucibles for long periods of time since this coarsens the grain structure leading to cracking and embrittlement.
• When heated in furnaces the ceramic floor of the furnace must be free contamination.
• Correctly space crucibles to avoid them fusing together.
• Handled with metallic objects such as tongs, tripods, meshes etc which are themselves not platinum.

Cleaning

• Boil in solvent.