Iridium
Iridium:
Image of one troy ounce of arc melted iridium
Facts about Iridium:
- Iridium: Iridium is a metallic element with a silvery-white appearance at standard temperature and pressure (STP)
- Fun fact about Iridium: Iridium is named after the greek goddess of rainbow, Iris, due to the discovery of the element in strongly coloured salts.
- Chemical symbol: Ir
- Atomic number: 77
A crystal structure containing Iridium:
Image showing a tetrairidium (blue atoms) cluster with bulky supporting ligands.
Facts about this structure:
- Formula: C207 H255 Ir4 O21 P3,3(C H Cl3)
- Structure name: tris(μ2-Carbonyl)-hexacarbonyl-tris(5,11,17,23-tetra-t-butyl-25-(diphenylphosphinomethoxy)-26,27,28-tri-n-propoxycalix(4)arene-P)-tetra-iridium chloroform solvate
- Fun fact about the structure: The number of calixarene phosphine ligands bound to the iridium cluster core contributes to the unique chemical and mechanical stability of the cluster
- CSD refcode: WAWBIH (What’s this?)
- Associated publication: Alexander Okrut, Oz Gazit, Namal de Silva, Rita Nichiporuk, Andrew Solovyov, Alexander Katz, Dalton Transactions, 2012, 41, 2091, DOI: 10.1039/C1DT11734C
More about Iridium:
Iridium was discovered in 1803 as part of a residue left when crude platinum was dissolved in aqua regia. Iridium has many applications due to its attractive physical and chemical properties. Iridium is resistant to corrosion and most acids; therefore, is used as a catalyst and as an alloying agent. Iridium alloys are used in aircraft engine parts, deep-water pipes and spark plugs. Iridium is also used in devices such as high-temperature crucibles due to its high melting point. In Marvel’s The Avengers, Dr. Erik Selvig needed iridium to stabilize the tesseract-created portal to bring the Chitauri to Earth. However, there is no known use of iridium in stabilizing space portals.
Learn More About the International Year of the Periodic Table (IYPT) in Crystals Project:
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A 3D visualization showing Iridium in real crystal structures: