Facts about Rhodium
Rhodium from this source contains radioactive isotopes with half-lives of up to 2.9 years.
Rhodium (chemical symbol Rh, atomic number 45) is a rare, silvery-white, inert metal.
Rhodium (Greek rhodon, meaning "rose") was discovered in 1803 by William Hyde Wollaston, soon after he discovered palladium.
Naturally occurring rhodium is composed of only one isotope, 103Rh, which is stable.
Another prominent rhodium chloride is RhCl3, a polymeric solid that behaves quite differently.
Guinness has also noted items such as the world's "Most Expensive Pen" or "Most Expensive Board Game" as containing rhodium.
Rhodium occurs in small amounts in ores of other metals such as platinum, palladium, nickel, silver, and gold.
After performing a series of chemical reactions to extract platinum and palladium from the ore, he obtained a red powder of sodium rhodium chloride (Na3RhCl6.12H2O).
Rhodium can also be extracted from spent nuclear fuel, which contains an average of 400 grams of rhodium per metric ton.
The name rhodium(III) chloride usually refers to hydrated rhodium trichloride, a molecular compound with the formula RhCl3(H2O)3.
Rhodium is also good for making electrical contacts, and it is a valuable catalyst for automobile catalytic converters and various industrial processes.
Most chemistry ascribed to "rhodium trichloride" refers to the use of the hydrated form.
In 1979, the Guinness Book of World Records gave Paul McCartney a rhodium-plated disc for being history's all-time best-selling songwriter and recording artist.