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Platinum Foil (Light Tight)
Available Configurations
Properties common to all products in this list
| Purity | Thickness | Sides | Surface Finish Options | Special Variants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 99.95% to 99.999% | 0.0005mm to 2mm | 5mm to 150mm | Polished on one side | Non Light Tested |
Need custom configurations? Please contact our Technical Solutions team.
Key Features
Platinum foil possesses a combination of material characteristics that make it particularly well suited for electronics, aerospace, medical implants, catalysis, and scientific instrumentation:
Exceptional Chemical Inertness
Platinum is one of the most chemically inert metals, resisting oxidation and corrosion in aggressive conditions. It only dissolves in aqua regia, ensuring unmatched longevity in harsh chemical applications.
High Melting Point (1,768 °C)
With one of the highest melting points among precious metals, platinum remains structurally stable under extreme temperature changes, making it ideal for furnace linings, high-temperature gaskets, and thermal shielding.
High Density (21.45 g/cm³)
Its high density contributes to robustness and structural stability, even in ultra-thin gauges. This is critical for precision foil gaskets, shims, and components in MEMS and microelectronics.
Catalytic Activity
Platinum is renowned for its catalytic performance, accelerating oxidation, hydrogenation, and reforming reactions without degradation. It is widely used in chemical reactors, fuel cells, and laboratory catalytic studies.
Thermal Conductivity (72 W/m·K)
Platinum offers good thermal conductivity, enabling efficient heat spreading in thin foil heating elements and thermal management films. This supports uniform temperature control in sensors and precision tooling.
Biocompatibility
Naturally bioinert and non-toxic, platinum foil is used in medical implants, pacemaker leads, neural electrodes, and biosensors. Its chemical stability ensures safe, long-term contact with biological tissues.
Workability & Formability
Platinum foil can be cold-worked and annealed without compromising its durability, making it ideal for custom shaping, microfabrication, and precision foil components.
Low Vapour Pressure & Vacuum Stability
Platinum maintains extremely low vapour pressure even at elevated temperatures, preventing outgassing in vacuum environments. This is ideal for UHV seals, deposition shutter blades, and vacuum chamber liners.
Optical Reflectivity & Emissivity Control
Platinum foil offers reliable light reflection across the visible and near-infrared range, along with a stable heat emission profile. These properties are critical for black-body calibration targets, radiometric heat-flux sensors, and optical pyrometer calibration.
Industrial Applications
High-purity platinum foil is used across high-technology sectors for its unparalleled chemical inertness, catalytic activity, thermal stability, and biocompatibility:
- ✦ Catalysts & Chemical Processing
- Platinum foil acts as a catalyst and support in hydrogenation, reforming, and emission control — including fuel cells and petroleum refining — owing to its surface activity, resistance to poisoning, and durability in hot, corrosive environments.
- ✦ Electronics & Sensor Engineering
- Its corrosion resistance and thermal stability enable platinum foil to deliver low-drift, high-reliability performance in RTDs, heating circuits, and microelectronic contacts.
- ✦ Aerospace & Thermal Management
- Used in gaskets, thermal shielding films, jet engines, re-entry vehicles, and insulation for spacecraft, platinum foil withstands extreme heat and oxidation without degradation.
- ✦ Scientific Instrumentation & Laboratory Equipment
- Platinum foil ensures chemical purity and dimensional stability in vacuum seals, X-ray windows, pressure sensors, crucibles, and evaporation boats.
- ✦ Medical & Bioelectronic Devices
- Biocompatible and non-toxic, platinum foil is ideal for implantable electrodes, neural interfaces, and biosensors requiring long-term tissue contact.
- ✦ Glass Manufacturing
- Its non-reactivity with silicates and high-temperature durability make platinum foil essential in bushings, stirrers, and feeders for molten glass handling.
Synonyms
Material Properties
| Element | Value |
|---|---|
| Atomic number | 78 |
| Crystal structure | Face centred cubic |
| Electronic structure | Xe 4f¹⁴ 5d⁹ 6s¹ |
| Valences shown | 1,2,3,4 |
| Atomic weight( amu ) | 195.08 |
| Thermal neutron absorption cross-section( Barns ) | 9 |
| Photo-electric work function( eV ) | 5.3 |
| Natural isotope distribution( Mass No./% ) | 192/ 0.79 |
| Natural isotope distribution( Mass No./% ) | 196/ 25.30 |
| Natural isotope distribution( Mass No./% ) | 190/ 0.01 |
| Natural isotope distribution( Mass No./% ) | 195/ 33.80 |
| Natural isotope distribution( Mass No./% ) | 198/ 7.20 |
| Natural isotope distribution( Mass No./% ) | 194/ 32.90 |
| Atomic radius - Goldschmidt( nm ) | 0.138 |
| Ionisation potential( No./eV ) | 1/ 9.0 |
| Ionisation potential( No./eV ) | 2/ 18.6 |
| Element | Value |
|---|---|
| Material condition | Hard |
| Material condition | Soft |
| Poisson's ratio | 0.39 |
| Poisson's ratio | 0.39 |
| Bulk modulus( GPa ) | 276 |
| Bulk modulus( GPa ) | 276 |
| Tensile modulus( GPa ) | 170 |
| Tensile modulus( GPa ) | 170 |
| Hardness - Vickers( kgf mm⁻² ) | 40 |
| Hardness - Vickers( kgf mm⁻² ) | 100 |
| Tensile strength( MPa ) | 200-300 |
| Tensile strength( MPa ) | 125-150 |
| Yield strength( MPa ) | 14-35 |
| Yield strength( MPa ) | 185 |
| Element | Value |
|---|---|
| Electrical resistivity( µOhmcm ) | 10.58@20°C |
| Temperature coefficient( K⁻¹ ) | 0.00392@0-100°C |
| Element | Value |
|---|---|
| Boiling point( C ) | 3827 |
| Density( gcm⁻³ ) | 21.45@20°C |
| Element | Value |
|---|---|
| Melting point( C ) | 1772 |
| Latent heat of evaporation( J g⁻¹ ) | 2405 |
| Latent heat of fusion( J g⁻¹ ) | 101 |
| Specific heat( J K⁻¹ kg⁻¹ ) | 133@025°C |
| Thermal conductivity( W m⁻¹ K⁻¹ ) | 71.6@0-100°C |
| Coefficient of thermal expansion( x10⁻⁶ K⁻¹ ) | 9@0-100 |
Tolerances
| Thickness | <0.01mm | ±25% |
|---|---|---|
| Thickness | 0.01mm - 0.05mm | ±15% |
| Thickness | >0.05mm | ±10% |