Platinum-Iridium alloy electrodes play a key role in chlor-alkali industry electrolyzers. Nets made of 90% Platinum-10% Iridium alloy resist corrosion from hydrochloric acid and chlorine gas at 80°C. With 55.5% open area design, they ensure 96% current efficiency. On nitric acid production lines, Platinum-Iridium alloy catalysts achieve 98% conversion in ammonia oxidation reactions at 900°C. The Iridium element triples the corrosion-resistant lifespan compared to traditional materials.
In fuel cells, carbon supports carry 2–3 nanometer Platinum-Iridium alloy particles. Oxygen reduction reaction mass activity reaches 0.56A per milligram Platinum, 48% higher than pure platinum electrodes. Automotive spark plugs use welded Platinum-20% Iridium alloy electrodes with nickel tips. They resist arc erosion 30% better than pure platinum, ensuring 150,000-mile service life.
Deep brain stimulators use 60-micrometer Platinum-Iridium alloy wires (95% Platinum-5% Iridium). These show no corrosion failure in human body fluid for 20 years.
Microelectrode arrays feature electrochemically etched Platinum-Iridium alloy tips. Platinum-10% Iridium probes as thin as 200 nanometers collect optic nerve signals at 0.1mV precision. Industrial-grade Platinum-Iridium alloy rolling achieves breakthrough 12.7-micrometer thickness. Platinum-20% Iridium foil enables high-precision strain sensors. With thermal expansion coefficient of 1.3×10⁻⁶ per Kelvin, measurement errors stay below 0.01% in constant-temperature environments.
Glucose sensors use Platinum-Iridium alloy spiral electrodes with porous coatings, reducing charge transfer resistance to 15Ω·cm².
To address high Iridium costs, high-frequency vacuum melting with hot-rolling and aging reduces Iridium segregation below 0.8% in Platinum-25% Iridium alloy.
Modified Renishaw RenAM 500S Flex 3D printers with inert gas systems achieve ≤0.5% powder waste rate, cutting fiberglass leak plate costs by 62%. Adding 0.05% weight Yttrium Oxide to dispersion-strengthened Platinum-Iridium alloy boosts high-temperature (1200°C) tensile strength to 186 Megapascal – 4.7 times stronger than traditional alloys.
New recycling technology using hydrochloric acid-sodium chlorate solutions recovers 99.2% Platinum and 98.7% Iridium from used electrodes. Platinum-Iridium alloy remains irreplaceable above 1800°C in high-temperature electrolysis and aircraft ignition systems. Current research focuses on reducing usage – nanostructuring cuts fuel cell Platinum-Iridium loading to 0.1 milligram per square centimeter while maintaining 0.8 Watt per square centimeter power density. Growing industrial demand drives manufacturing innovations. The global Platinum-Iridium alloy market is projected to reach $100 billion by 2025.
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