New applications for platinum as a catalyst – a use discovered over two centuries ago – are still being discovered
In the early decades of the nineteenth century scientist Sir Humphry Davy stumbled upon the phenomenon of heterogeneous catalytic oxidation when working on the development of the first-ever miner’s safety lamp. By inserting a platinum wire near the ignited wick of the lamp, Davy found it would catalyse the continued oxidation of coal gas. This…
