The discovery of iridium particles is closely related to platinum and other platinum group elements. The ancient Ethiopians and people of various cultures in South America have used naturally occurring platinum metal since ancient times, which must contain a small amount of other platinum elements, which also includes iridium. The Spanish conquistadors in the 17th century discovered platinum in the province of Chocó, Colombia, and brought it to Europe. However, it was not until 1748 that scientists discovered that it was not an alloy of any known metal, but a completely new element.

Performance: The main performance of iridium particles is: ⑴Density 22.56g/cm^3; ⑵Melting point 2454℃, the use temperature of iridium products can reach 2100～2200¨C; ⑶High elastic modulus (538.3GPa), low Poisson coefficient (0.26), low-temperature plasticity is very poor; ⑷ is the most corrosion-resistant metal, compact iridium is insoluble in all inorganic acids, and is not corroded by other metal melts, such as molten lead, zinc, nickel, iron, gold, etc.; It can withstand the erosion of many molten reagents and high-temperature silicates; ⑸Like other platinum group metal alloys, iridium alloy can firmly adsorb organic matter and can be used as a catalyst material; ⑹Iridium generates IrO2 in air or oxygen above 600 ℃, and at 1100 Decomposition at ℃; the volatilization of iridium in the air at 1227℃ is 100 times that of platinum. Iridium can be smelted in high frequency or intermediate frequency furnace, electric arc furnace, electron beam, etc. Iridium has good plasticity above 1600°C and is usually hot processed.

Uses: The high melting point and high stability of iridium particles make it important for many special occasions, but the brittleness and high temperature loss of iridium limit its application to a certain extent. The earliest application of iridium was as a pen tip material, and later applications for injection needles, balance blades, compass holders, and electrical contacts were proposed. The iridium crucible can be used to grow refractory oxide crystals. The crucible can work at 2100-2200°C for thousands of hours and is an important precious metal vessel material. The high temperature oxidation resistance and thermoelectric properties of iridium make the iridium/iridium rhodium thermocouple the only precious metal temperature measurement material that can measure high temperatures up to 2100℃ in the atmosphere; it can be used as a container material for radioactive heat sources; anodized iridium film is a kind of The promising electrochromic material. Ir192 is a gamma-ray source, which can be used for non-destructive testing and radiochemotherapy. At the same time, iridium is a very important alloying element, and some iridium alloys are used in some key sectors; iridium compounds also have their own unique uses.