Rhodium and Silver - Comparison - Properties

This article contains comparison of key thermal and atomic properties of rhodium and silver, two comparable chemical elements from the periodic table. It also contains basic descriptions and applications of both elements. Rhodium vs Silver.

rhodium and silver - comparison

Compare rhodium with another element

Compare silver with another element

Rhodium and Silver – About Elements

Rhodium

Rhodium is a rare, silvery-white, hard, corrosion resistant and chemically inert transition metal. It is a noble metal and a member of the platinum group.

Silver

Silver is a soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. The metal is found in the Earth’s crust in the pure, free elemental form (“native silver”), as an alloy with gold and other metals, and in minerals such as argentite and chlorargyrite. Most silver is produced as a byproduct of copper, gold, lead, and zinc refining.

Rhodium in Periodic Table

Silver in Periodic Table

Source: www.luciteria.com

Rhodium and Silver – Applications

Rhodium

The element’s major use (approximately 80% of world rhodium production) is as one of the catalysts in the three-way catalytic converters in automobiles. Because rhodium metal is inert against corrosion and most aggressive chemicals, and because of its rarity, rhodium is usually alloyed with platinum or palladium and applied in high-temperature and corrosion-resistive coatings. In nuclear reactors, rhodium-based detectors are often used for incore neutron flux measuring.

Silver

Silver has long been valued as a precious metal. Silver metal is used in many bullion coins, sometimes alongside gold. Silver has many important, far-reaching technological and electronic applications. It’s used in everything from cell phones, computers and semiconductors to automobiles, water-purification systems and—because it is the best conductor of heat of all elements—spacecraft solar radiation tiles. Silver is of the upmost importance in photography (where approximately 30% of the U.S. Industrial consumption goes into this application). The medical uses of silver include its use in wound dressings, creams, and as an antibiotic coating on medical devices. Wound dressings containing silver sulfadiazine or silver nanomaterials may be used on external infections.

Rhodium and Silver – Comparison in Table

Element	Rhodium	Silver
Density	12.45 g/cm3	10.49 g/cm3
Ultimate Tensile Strength	950 MPa	110 MPa
Yield Strength	N/A	45 MPa
Young’s Modulus of Elasticity	380 GPa	83 GPa
Mohs Scale	6	3.25
Brinell Hardness	1100 MPa	210 MPa
Vickers Hardness	1246 MPa	251 MPa
Melting Point	1964 °C	961.78 °C
Boiling Point	3695 °C	2162 °C
Thermal Conductivity	150 W/mK	430 W/mK
Thermal Expansion Coefficient	8.2 µm/mK	18.9 µm/mK
Specific Heat	0.242 J/g K	0.235 J/g K
Heat of Fusion	21.5 kJ/mol	11.3 kJ/mol
Heat of Vaporization	493 kJ/mol	250.58 kJ/mol