Palladium (Lat. Palladium) is an extremely rare precious metal that is now widely used in the automotive, electrical and investment sectors. This greyish-white metal is flexible and easy to work with, but at the same time quite strong. Palladium has a melting point of 1554.9°C and a boiling point of 2963°C.
Interestingly, palladium (chemical symbol Pd) is about 30 times rarer than gold. It is characterised not only by a high price and investment value, but also by a wide range of practical applications of this metal. In terms of practical applications, palladium (along with platinum and rhodium) is known to be one of the components of automotive catalytic converters. A catalytic converter found in petrol cars can contain anywhere from 2 to about 7 grams of palladium (depending on the size of the converter).
Because of its durability, corrosion resistance and excellent electrical conductivity, palladium is used in the manufacture of various household appliances. Larger amounts of palladium can be found in dishwashers (up to ~5 g per unit) and washing machines (from 0.5 to 2 g per unit). In electrical engineering, palladium is rapidly being replaced by cheaper materials such as nickel. However, higher levels of this rare metal can still be found in some equipment, such as more expensive computers. Palladium and its alloys are also used in the manufacture of various medical instruments and watches, as well as in dentistry.
Sources:
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/palladium.asp
https://www.bullionbypost.co.uk/index/platinum/whats-inside-a-catalytic-converter/
A guide to PGMs: http://matthey.com/pgm-markes
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/palladium-market-size-value-anticipated-reach-tppqf?trk=article-ssr-frontend-pulse_more-articles_related-content-card
https://www.statista.com/statistics/273647/global-mine-production-of-palladium/
https://www.materialstoday.com/metals-alloys/articles/s1369702111701432/
