Iridium is the
chemical elementA chemical element is a pure chemical substance consisting of one type of atom distinguished by its atomic number, which is the number of protons in its nucleus. Familiar examples of elements include carbon, oxygen, aluminum, iron, copper, gold, mercury, and lead.As of November 2011, 118 elements...
with
atomic numberIn chemistry and physics, the atomic number is the number of protons found in the nucleus of an atom and therefore identical to the charge number of the nucleus. It is conventionally represented by the symbol Z. The atomic number uniquely identifies a chemical element...
77, and is represented by the symbol
Ir. A very hard, brittle, silvery-white
transition metalThe term transition metal has two possible meanings:*The IUPAC definition states that a transition metal is "an element whose atom has an incomplete d sub-shell, or which can give rise to cations with an incomplete d sub-shell." Group 12 elements are not transition metals in this definition.*Some...
of the
platinum familyThe platinum group metals is a term used sometimes to collectively refer to six metallic elements clustered together in the periodic table.These elements are all transition metals, lying in the d-block .The six...
, iridium is the second-
densestThe mass density or density of a material is defined as its mass per unit volume. The symbol most often used for density is ρ . In some cases , density is also defined as its weight per unit volume; although, this quantity is more properly called specific weight...
element (after
osmiumOsmium is a chemical element with the symbol Os and atomic number 76. Osmium is a hard, brittle, blue-gray or blue-blacktransition metal in the platinum family, and is the densest natural element. Osmium is twice as dense as lead. The density of osmium is , slightly greater than that of iridium,...
) and is the most
corrosionCorrosion is the disintegration of an engineered material into its constituent atoms due to chemical reactions with its surroundings. In the most common use of the word, this means electrochemical oxidation of metals in reaction with an oxidant such as oxygen...
-resistant metal, even at temperatures as high as 2000 °C. Although only certain molten salts and
halogenThe halogens or halogen elements are a series of nonmetal elements from Group 17 IUPAC Style of the periodic table, comprising fluorine , chlorine , bromine , iodine , and astatine...
s are corrosive to solid iridium, finely divided iridium dust is much more reactive and can be flammable.
Iridium was discovered in 1803 among insoluble impurities in natural
platinumPlatinum is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Pt and an atomic number of 78. Its name is derived from the Spanish term platina del Pinto, which is literally translated into "little silver of the Pinto River." It is a dense, malleable, ductile, precious, gray-white transition metal...
.
Smithson TennantSmithson Tennant FRS was an English chemist.Tennant is best known for his discovery of the elements iridium and osmium, which he found in the residues from the solution of platinum ores in 1803. He also contributed to the proof of the identity of diamond and charcoal. The mineral tennantite is...
, the primary discoverer, named the iridium for the goddess
IrisIn Greek mythology, Iris is the personification of the rainbow and messenger of the gods. As the sun unites Earth and heaven, Iris links the gods to humanity...
, personification of the rainbow, because of the striking and diverse colors of its salts. Iridium is
one of the rarest elementsThe table shows the abundance of elements in Earth's crust. Numbers show percentage or parts per million in mass; 10,000 ppm = 1%.Note that numbers are estimates, and they will vary depending on source and method of estimation. Order of magnitude of data can roughly be relied upon.The table shows...
in the Earth's crust, with annual production and consumption of only three
tonneThe tonne, known as the metric ton in the US , often put pleonastically as "metric tonne" to avoid confusion with ton, is a metric system unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. The tonne is not an International System of Units unit, but is accepted for use with the SI...
s. and are the only two naturally occurring
isotopeIsotopes are variants of atoms of a particular chemical element, which have differing numbers of neutrons. Atoms of a particular element by definition must contain the same number of protons but may have a distinct number of neutrons which differs from atom to atom, without changing the designation...
s of iridium as well as the only
stable isotopeStable isotopes are chemical isotopes that may or may not be radioactive, but if radioactive, have half-lives too long to be measured.Only 90 nuclides from the first 40 elements are energetically stable to any kind of decay save proton decay, in theory...
s; the latter is the more abundant of the two.
The most important iridium compounds in use are the salts and acids it forms with
chlorineChlorine is the chemical element with atomic number 17 and symbol Cl. It is the second lightest halogen, found in the periodic table in group 17. The element forms diatomic molecules under standard conditions, called dichlorine...
, though iridium also forms a number of organometallic compounds used in industrial
catalysisCatalysis is the change in rate of a chemical reaction due to the participation of a substance called a catalyst. Unlike other reagents that participate in the chemical reaction, a catalyst is not consumed by the reaction itself. A catalyst may participate in multiple chemical transformations....
, and in research. Iridium metal is employed when high corrosion resistance at high temperatures is needed, as in high-end
spark plugA spark plug is an electrical device that fits into the cylinder head of some internal combustion engines and ignites compressed fuels such as aerosol, gasoline, ethanol, and liquefied petroleum gas by means of an electric spark.Spark plugs have an insulated central electrode which is connected by...
s,
crucibleA crucible is a container used for metal, glass, and pigment production as well as a number of modern laboratory processes, which can withstand temperatures high enough to melt or otherwise alter its contents...
s for recrystallization of semiconductors at high temperatures, and electrodes for the production of chlorine in the
chloralkali processThe chloralkali process is an industrial process for the electrolysis of sodium chloride solution . Depending on the method several products beside hydrogen can be produced. If the products are separated, chlorine and sodium hydroxide are the products; by mixing, sodium hypochlorite or sodium...
. Iridium radioisotopes are used in some
radioisotope thermoelectric generatorA radioisotope thermoelectric generator is an electrical generator that obtains its power from radioactive decay. In such a device, the heat released by the decay of a suitable radioactive material is converted into electricity by the Seebeck effect using an array of thermocouples.RTGs can be...
s.
The unusually high abundance of iridium in the clay layer at the
K–T geologic boundaryThe K–T boundary is a geological signature, usually a thin band, dated to 65.5 ± 0.3 Ma ago. K is the traditional abbreviation for the Cretaceous period, and T is the abbreviation for the Tertiary period...
gave rise to the
Alvarez hypothesisThe Alvarez hypothesis claims that the mass extinction of the dinosaurs and many other living things was caused by the impact of a large asteroid on the Earth sixty-five million years ago, called the Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction event. Evidence indicates that the asteroid fell in the Yucatán...
that the impact of a massive extraterrestrial object caused the extinction of dinosaurs and many other species 65 million years ago. Iridium is found in meteorites with an abundance much higher than its average abundance in the Earth's crust. It is thought that the total amount of iridium in the planet Earth is much higher than that observed in crustal rocks, but as with other platinum group metals, the high density and tendency of iridium to bond with iron caused most iridium to descend below the crust when the planet was young and still molten.
Physical properties
A member of the
platinum groupThe platinum group metals is a term used sometimes to collectively refer to six metallic elements clustered together in the periodic table.These elements are all transition metals, lying in the d-block .The six...
metalA metal , is an element, compound, or alloy that is a good conductor of both electricity and heat. Metals are usually malleable and shiny, that is they reflect most of incident light...
s, iridium is white, resembling
platinumPlatinum is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Pt and an atomic number of 78. Its name is derived from the Spanish term platina del Pinto, which is literally translated into "little silver of the Pinto River." It is a dense, malleable, ductile, precious, gray-white transition metal...
, but with a slight yellowish cast. Because of its hardness, brittleness, and very high melting point (the ninth highest of all elements), solid iridium is difficult to machine, form, or work, and thus
powder metallurgyPowder metallurgy is the process of blending fine powdered materials, pressing them into a desired shape , and then heating the compressed material in a controlled atmosphere to bond the material . The powder metallurgy process generally consists of four basic steps: powder manufacture, powder...
is commonly employed instead. It is the only metal to maintain good mechanical properties in air at temperatures above 1600 °C. Iridium has a very high boiling point (10th among all elements) and becomes a superconductor at temperatures below 0.14
KThe kelvin is a unit of measurement for temperature. It is one of the seven base units in the International System of Units and is assigned the unit symbol K. The Kelvin scale is an absolute, thermodynamic temperature scale using as its null point absolute zero, the temperature at which all...
.
Iridium's modulus of elasticity is the second highest among the metals, only being surpassed by
osmiumOsmium is a chemical element with the symbol Os and atomic number 76. Osmium is a hard, brittle, blue-gray or blue-blacktransition metal in the platinum family, and is the densest natural element. Osmium is twice as dense as lead. The density of osmium is , slightly greater than that of iridium,...
. This, together with a high modulus of rigidity and a very low figure for
Poisson's ratioPoisson's ratio , named after Siméon Poisson, is the ratio, when a sample object is stretched, of the contraction or transverse strain , to the extension or axial strain ....
(the relationship of longitudinal to lateral
strainIn chemistry, a molecule experiences strain when its chemical structure undergoes some stress which raises its internal energy in comparison to a strain-free reference compound. The internal energy of a molecule consists of all the energy stored within it. A strained molecule has an additional...
), indicate the high degree of
stiffnessStiffness is the resistance of an elastic body to deformation by an applied force along a given degree of freedom when a set of loading points and boundary conditions are prescribed on the elastic body.-Calculations:...
and resistance to deformation that have rendered its fabrication into useful components a matter of great difficulty. Despite these limitations and iridium's high cost, a number of applications have developed where mechanical strength is an essential factor in some of the extremely severe conditions encountered in modern technology.
The measured
densityThe mass density or density of a material is defined as its mass per unit volume. The symbol most often used for density is ρ . In some cases , density is also defined as its weight per unit volume; although, this quantity is more properly called specific weight...
of iridium is only slightly lower (by about 0.12%) than that of
osmiumOsmium is a chemical element with the symbol Os and atomic number 76. Osmium is a hard, brittle, blue-gray or blue-blacktransition metal in the platinum family, and is the densest natural element. Osmium is twice as dense as lead. The density of osmium is , slightly greater than that of iridium,...
, the densest element known. There had been some ambiguity regarding which of the two elements was denser, due to the small size of the difference in density and difficulties in measuring it accurately, but, with increased accuracy in factors used for calculating density
X-ray crystallographicX-ray crystallography is a method of determining the arrangement of atoms within a crystal, in which a beam of X-rays strikes a crystal and causes the beam of light to spread into many specific directions. From the angles and intensities of these diffracted beams, a crystallographer can produce a...
data yielded densities of 22.56 g/cm
3 for iridium and 22.59 g/cm
3 for osmium.
Chemical properties
Iridium is the most corrosion-resistant metal known: it is not attacked by almost any
acidAn acid is a substance which reacts with a base. Commonly, acids can be identified as tasting sour, reacting with metals such as calcium, and bases like sodium carbonate. Aqueous acids have a pH of less than 7, where an acid of lower pH is typically stronger, and turn blue litmus paper red...
,
aqua regiaAqua regia or aqua regis is a highly corrosive mixture of acids, fuming yellow or red solution, also called nitro-hydrochloric acid. The mixture is formed by freshly mixing concentrated nitric acid and hydrochloric acid, usually in a volume ratio of 1:3, respectively...
, molten metals or silicates at high temperatures. It can, however, be attacked by some molten salts, such as
sodium cyanideSodium cyanide is an inorganic compound with the formula NaCN. This highly toxic colorless salt is used mainly in gold mining but has other niche applications...
and
potassium cyanidePotassium cyanide is an inorganic compound with the formula KCN. This colorless crystalline compound, similar in appearance to sugar, is highly soluble in water. Most KCN is used in gold mining, organic synthesis, and electroplating. Smaller applications include jewelry for chemical gilding and...
, as well as
oxygenOxygen is the element with atomic number 8 and represented by the symbol O. Its name derives from the Greek roots ὀξύς and -γενής , because at the time of naming, it was mistakenly thought that all acids required oxygen in their composition...
and the
halogenThe halogens or halogen elements are a series of nonmetal elements from Group 17 IUPAC Style of the periodic table, comprising fluorine , chlorine , bromine , iodine , and astatine...
s (particularly
fluorineFluorine is the chemical element with atomic number 9, represented by the symbol F. It is the lightest element of the halogen column of the periodic table and has a single stable isotope, fluorine-19. At standard pressure and temperature, fluorine is a pale yellow gas composed of diatomic...
) at higher temperatures.
Compounds
Oxidation states[Most common oxidation states of iridium are in bold. The right column lists one representative compound for each oxidation state.] |
| −3 |
|
| −1 |
|
| 0 |
|
| +1 |
|
| +2 |
|
| +3 |
|
| +4 |
|
| +5 |
|
| +6 |
|
Iridium forms compounds in
oxidation stateIn chemistry, the oxidation state is an indicator of the degree of oxidation of an atom in a chemical compound. The formal oxidation state is the hypothetical charge that an atom would have if all bonds to atoms of different elements were 100% ionic. Oxidation states are typically represented by...
s between −3 to +6; the most common oxidation states are +3 and +4. Well-characterized examples of the highest oxidation state are rare, but include
Iridium fluoride is a volatile and highly reactive yellow solid, with an octahedral molecular structure . It is one of only a few compounds with iridium in its highest oxidation state, +6...
and two mixed oxides and .
Iridium dioxideIridium oxide, IrO2, is the only well characterised oxide of iridium. Its crystal has the TiO2, rutile structure containing six coordinate iridium and three coordinate oxygen....
, , a brown powder, is the only well-characterized oxide of iridium. A
sesquioxideA sesquioxide is an oxide containing three atoms of oxygen with two atoms of another element. For example, aluminium oxide is a sesquioxide.Many sesquioxides contain the metal in the +3 oxidation state and the oxide ion, e.g., Al2O3, La2O3...
, , has been described as a blue-black powder which is oxidized to by . The corresponding disulfides, diselenides, sesquisulfides and sesquiselenides are known and has also been reported. Iridium also forms iridates with oxidation states +4 and +5, such as and , which can be prepared from the reaction of
potassium oxidePotassium oxide is an ionic compound of potassium and oxygen. This pale yellow solid, the simplest oxide of potassium, is a rarely encountered, highly reactive compound...
or
potassium superoxidePotassium superoxide is the chemical compound with the formula KO2. This rare salt of the superoxide ion is produced by burning molten potassium in pure oxygen...
with iridium at high temperatures.
While no
binaryA binary compound is a chemical compound that contains exactly two different elements. Examples of binary ionic compounds include calcium chloride , sodium fluoride , and magnesium oxide , whilst examples of binary covalent compounds include water , carbon monoxide , and sulfur hexafluoride...
hydrideIn chemistry, a hydride is the anion of hydrogen, H−, or, more commonly, a compound in which one or more hydrogen centres have nucleophilic, reducing, or basic properties. In compounds that are regarded as hydrides, hydrogen is bonded to a more electropositive element or group...
s of iridium, are known, complexes are known that contain and , where iridium has the +1 and +3 oxidation states, respectively. The ternary hydride is believed to contain both the and the 18-electron anion.
No monohalides or dihalides are known, whereas trihalides, , are known for all of the halogens. For oxidation states +4 and above, only the
tetrafluorideIridium fluoride is a chemical compound of iridium and fluorine, with the chemical formula IrF4 and is a dark brown solid. Early reports of IrF4 prior to 1965 are questionable and appear to describe the compound IrF5...
,
pentafluorideIridium fluoride, IrF5, is a chemical compound of iridium and fluorine, first described by Neil Bartlett in 1965. A highly reactive yellow low melting solid, it has a tetrameric structure, Ir4F20, which contains octahedrally coordinated iridium atoms. This structure is shared with RuF5 and OsF5...
and hexafluoride are known. Iridium hexafluoride, , is a volatile and highly reactive yellow solid, composed of octahedral molecules. It decomposes in water and is reduced to , a crystalline solid, by iridium black. Iridium pentafluoride has similar properties but it is actually a
tetramerA tetramer is a protein with four subunits . There are homotetramers such as glutathione S-transferase or single-strand binding protein, dimers of hetero-dimers such as hemoglobin , and heterotetramers, where each subunit is different.-Subunit interactions in tetramers:The interactions between...
, , formed by four corner-sharing octahedra.
Hexachloroiridic(IV) acid, , and its ammonium salt are the most important iridium compounds from an industrial perspective. They are involved in the purification of iridium and used as precursors for most other iridium compounds, as well as in the preparation of
anodeAn anode is an electrode through which electric current flows into a polarized electrical device. Mnemonic: ACID ....
coatings. The ion has an intense dark brown color, and can be readily reduced to the lighter-colored and vice versa.
Iridium trichlorideIridium chloride is the inorganic compound with the formula IrCl3. This material is relatively rare, but the related hydrate is useful for preparing other iridium compounds. The anhydrous salt is a dark green crystalline solid...
, , which can be obtained in anhydrous form from direct oxidation of iridium powder by
chlorineChlorine is the chemical element with atomic number 17 and symbol Cl. It is the second lightest halogen, found in the periodic table in group 17. The element forms diatomic molecules under standard conditions, called dichlorine...
at 650 °C, or in hydrated form by dissolving in
hydrochloric acidHydrochloric acid is a solution of hydrogen chloride in water, that is a highly corrosive, strong mineral acid with many industrial uses. It is found naturally in gastric acid....
, is often used as a starting material for the synthesis of other Ir(III) compounds. Another compound used as a starting material is ammonium hexachloroiridate(III), . Iridium(III) complexes are diamagnetic (low-spin) and generally have an
octahedral molecular geometryIn chemistry, octahedral molecular geometry describes the shape of compounds where in six atoms or groups of atoms or ligands are symmetrically arranged around a central atom, defining the vertices of an octahedron...
.
Organoiridium compoundOrganoiridium compounds contain iridium-carbon chemical bonds. Compounds with Ir-C bonds are found in oxidation states from 0 to V. For example, oxidation state zero is found in tetrairidium dodecacarbonyl, , which is the most common and stable binary carbonyl of iridium. In this compound, each of...
s contain iridium–
carbonCarbon is the chemical element with symbol C and atomic number 6. As a member of group 14 on the periodic table, it is nonmetallic and tetravalent—making four electrons available to form covalent chemical bonds...
bonds where the metal is usually in lower oxidation states. For example, oxidation state zero is found in
tetrairidium dodecacarbonylTetrairidium dodecacarbonyl is the chemical compound with the formula Ir412. This tetrahedral cluster is the most common and most stable "binary" carbonyl of iridium. This air-stable species is only poorly soluble in organic solvents. It has been used to prepare bimetallic clusters and catalysts,...
, , which is the most common and stable binary
carbonylMetal carbonyls are coordination complexes of transition metals with carbon monoxide ligands. These complexes may be homoleptic, that is containing only CO ligands, such as nickel carbonyl , but more commonly metal carbonyls contain a mix of ligands, such as Re3Cl...
of iridium. In this compound, each of the iridium atoms is bonded to the other three, forming a tetrahedral cluster. Some organometallic Ir(I) compounds are notable enough to be named after their discoverers. One is
Vaska's complexVaska's complex is the trivial name for the chemical compound trans-chlorocarbonylbisiridium, which has the formula IrCl[P3]2. This square planar diamagnetic organometallic complex consists of a central iridium atom bound to two mutually trans triphenylphosphine ligands, carbon monoxide, and a...
, , which has the unusual property of binding to the dioxygen molecule, . Another one is
Crabtree's catalystCrabtree's catalyst is the name given to a complex of iridium with 1,5-cyclooctadiene, tris-cyclohexylphosphine, and pyridine. It is a homogeneous catalyst for hydrogenation reactions, developed by Robert H. Crabtree, a professor at Yale University...
, a homogeneous catalyst for
hydrogenationHydrogenation, to treat with hydrogen, also a form of chemical reduction, is a chemical reaction between molecular hydrogen and another compound or element, usually in the presence of a catalyst. The process is commonly employed to reduce or saturate organic compounds. Hydrogenation typically...
reactions. These compounds are both
square planarThe square planar molecular geometry in chemistry describes the stereochemistry that is adopted by certain chemical compounds...
, d
8 complexes, with a total of 16
valence electronIn chemistry, valence electrons are the electrons of an atom that can participate in the formation of chemical bonds with other atoms. Valence electrons are the "own" electrons, present in the free neutral atom, that combine with valence electrons of other atoms to form chemical bonds. In a single...
s, which accounts for their reactivity.
Isotopes
Iridium has two naturally occurring, stable
isotopeIsotopes are variants of atoms of a particular chemical element, which have differing numbers of neutrons. Atoms of a particular element by definition must contain the same number of protons but may have a distinct number of neutrons which differs from atom to atom, without changing the designation...
s,
191Ir and
193Ir, with
natural abundanceIn chemistry, natural abundance refers to the abundance of isotopes of a chemical element as naturally found on a planet. The relative atomic mass of these isotopes is the atomic weight listed for the element in the periodic table...
s of 37.3% and 62.7%, respectively. At least 34 radioisotopes have also been synthesized, ranging in
mass numberThe mass number , also called atomic mass number or nucleon number, is the total number of protons and neutrons in an atomic nucleus. Because protons and neutrons both are baryons, the mass number A is identical with the baryon number B as of the nucleus as of the whole atom or ion...
from 164 to 199.
192Ir, which falls between the two stable isotopes, is the most stable radioisotope, with a
half-lifeHalf-life, abbreviated t½, is the period of time it takes for the amount of a substance undergoing decay to decrease by half. The name was originally used to describe a characteristic of unstable atoms , but it may apply to any quantity which follows a set-rate decay.The original term, dating to...
of 73.827 days, and finds application in
brachytherapyBrachytherapy , also known as internal radiotherapy, sealed source radiotherapy, curietherapy or endocurietherapy, is a form of radiotherapy where a radiation source is placed inside or next to the area requiring treatment...
and in industrial
radiographyRadiography is the use of X-rays to view a non-uniformly composed material such as the human body. By using the physical properties of the ray an image can be developed which displays areas of different density and composition....
, particularly for non-destructive testing of welds in steel in the oil and gas industries; iridium-192 sources have been responsible for a number of radiological accidents. Three other isotopes have half-lives of at least a day—
188Ir,
189Ir,
190Ir. Isotopes with masses below 191 decay by some combination of β
+ decay,
α decayAlpha decay is a type of radioactive decay in which an atomic nucleus emits an alpha particle and thereby transforms into an atom with a mass number 4 less and atomic number 2 less...
, and
proton emissionProton emission is a type of radioactive decay in which a proton is ejected from a nucleus. Proton emission can occur from high-lying excited states in a nucleus following a beta decay, in which case the process is known as beta-delayed proton emission, or can occur from the ground state of very...
, with the exceptions of
189Ir, which decays by
electron captureElectron capture is a process in which a proton-rich nuclide absorbs an inner atomic electron and simultaneously emits a neutrino...
, and
190Ir, which decays by
positron emissionPositron emission or beta plus decay is a type of beta decay in which a proton is converted, via the weak force, to a neutron, releasing a positron and a neutrino....
. Synthetic isotopes heavier than 191 decay by β
− decay, although
192Ir also has a minor
electron captureElectron capture is a process in which a proton-rich nuclide absorbs an inner atomic electron and simultaneously emits a neutrino...
decay path. All known isotopes of iridium were discovered between 1934 and 2001; the most recent is
171Ir.
At least 32
metastable isomersA nuclear isomer is a metastable state of an atomic nucleus caused by the excitation of one or more of its nucleons . "Metastable" refers to the fact that these excited states have half-lives more than 100 to 1000 times the half-lives of the other possible excited nuclear states...
have been characterized, ranging in mass number from 164 to 197. The most stable of these is
192m2Ir, which decays by
isomeric transitionAn isomeric transition is a radioactive decay process that involves emission of a gamma ray from an atom where the nucleus is in an excited metastable state, referred to in its excited state, as a nuclear isomer....
with a half-life of 241 years, making it more stable than any of iridium's synthetic isotopes in their ground states. The least stable isomer is
190m3Ir with a half-life of only 2 µs. The isotope
191Ir was the first one of any element to be shown to present a
Mössbauer effectThe Mössbauer effect, or recoilless nuclear resonance fluorescence, is a physical phenomenon discovered by Rudolf Mössbauer in 1958. It involves the resonant and recoil-free emission and absorption of γ radiation by atomic nuclei bound in a solid...
. This renders it useful for Mössbauer spectroscopy for research in physics, chemistry, biochemistry, metallurgy, and mineralogy.
History
The discovery of iridium is intertwined with that of platinum and the other metals of the
platinum groupThe platinum group metals is a term used sometimes to collectively refer to six metallic elements clustered together in the periodic table.These elements are all transition metals, lying in the d-block .The six...
.
NativeA native metal is any metal that is found in its metallic form, either pure or as an alloy, in nature. Metals that can be found as native deposits singly and/or in alloys include aluminium, antimony, arsenic, bismuth, cadmium, chromium, cobalt, indium, iron, nickel, selenium, tantalum, tellurium,...
platinum used by ancient Ethiopians and by South American cultures always contained a small amount of the other platinum group metals, including iridium. Platinum reached Europe as
platina ("small silver"), found in the 17th century by the Spanish conquerors in a region today known as the department of Chocó in
ColombiaColombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
. The discovery that this metal was not an alloy of known elements, but instead a distinct new element, did not occur until 1748.
Chemists who studied platinum dissolved it in
aqua regiaAqua regia or aqua regis is a highly corrosive mixture of acids, fuming yellow or red solution, also called nitro-hydrochloric acid. The mixture is formed by freshly mixing concentrated nitric acid and hydrochloric acid, usually in a volume ratio of 1:3, respectively...
(a mixture of
hydrochloricHydrochloric acid is a solution of hydrogen chloride in water, that is a highly corrosive, strong mineral acid with many industrial uses. It is found naturally in gastric acid....
and
nitric acidNitric acid , also known as aqua fortis and spirit of nitre, is a highly corrosive and toxic strong acid.Colorless when pure, older samples tend to acquire a yellow cast due to the accumulation of oxides of nitrogen. If the solution contains more than 86% nitric acid, it is referred to as fuming...
s) to create soluble salts. They always observed a small amount of a dark, insoluble residue. Joseph Louis Proust thought that the residue was
graphiteThe mineral graphite is one of the allotropes of carbon. It was named by Abraham Gottlob Werner in 1789 from the Ancient Greek γράφω , "to draw/write", for its use in pencils, where it is commonly called lead . Unlike diamond , graphite is an electrical conductor, a semimetal...
. The French chemists Victor Collet-Descotils,
Antoine François, comte de FourcroyAntoine François, comte de Fourcroy was a French chemist and a contemporary of Antoine Lavoisier. Fourcroy collaborated with Lavoisier, Guyton de Morveau, and Claude Berthollet on the Méthode de nomenclature chimique, a work that helped standardize chemical nomenclature.-Life and work:Fourcroy...
, and
Louis Nicolas VauquelinNicolas Louis Vauquelin , was a French pharmacist and chemist.-Early life:Vauquelin was born at Saint-André-d'Hébertot in Normandy, France. His first acquaintance with chemistry was gained as laboratory assistant to an apothecary in Rouen , and after various vicissitudes he obtained an introduction...
also observed the black residue in 1803, but did not obtain enough for further experiments.
In 1803, British scientist
Smithson TennantSmithson Tennant FRS was an English chemist.Tennant is best known for his discovery of the elements iridium and osmium, which he found in the residues from the solution of platinum ores in 1803. He also contributed to the proof of the identity of diamond and charcoal. The mineral tennantite is...
(1761–1815) analyzed the insoluble residue and concluded that it must contain a new metal. Vauquelin treated the powder alternately with alkali and acids and obtained a volatile new oxide, which he believed to be of this new metal—which he named
ptene, from the Greek word (ptènos) for winged. Tennant, who had the advantage of a much greater amount of residue, continued his research and identified the two previously undiscovered elements in the black residue, iridium and osmium. He obtained dark red crystals (probably of ]·
n) by a sequence of reactions with
sodium hydroxide and
hydrochloric acidHydrochloric acid is a solution of hydrogen chloride in water, that is a highly corrosive, strong mineral acid with many industrial uses. It is found naturally in gastric acid....
. He named iridium after
IrisIn Greek mythology, Iris is the personification of the rainbow and messenger of the gods. As the sun unites Earth and heaven, Iris links the gods to humanity...
, the Greek winged goddess of the rainbow and the messenger of the Olympian gods, because many of the salts he obtained were strongly colored.
[Iridium literally means "of rainbows".] Discovery of the new elements was documented in a letter to the
Royal SocietyThe Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
on June 21, 1804.
British scientist
John George ChildrenJohn George Children was a British chemist, mineralogist and zoologist.Children studied at Queens' College, Cambridge. In 1822 he was working as a librarian in the Department of Antiquities at the British Museum when he was appointed assistant keeper of the Natural History Department in succession...
was the first to melt a sample of iridium in 1813 with the aid of "the greatest galvanic battery that has ever been constructed" (at that time). The first to obtain high purity iridium was
Robert HareRobert Hare was an early American chemist.Hare was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on January 17, 1781. He developed and experimented with the oxy-hydrogen blowpipe, with Edward Daniel Clarke of Oxford, shortly after 1800. He married Harriett Clark and had six children...
in 1842. He found that it had a density of around 21.8 g/cm
3 and noted that the metal is nearly unmalleable and very hard. The first melting in appreciable quantity was done by Henri Sainte-Claire Deville and Jules Henri Debray in 1860. They required burning more than 300 L of pure and for each kilogram of iridium.
These extreme difficulties in melting the metal limited the possibilities for handling iridium.
John Isaac HawkinsJohn Isaac Hawkins was an inventor who practiced civil engineering.He was known as the co-inventor of the ever-pointed pencil, an early mechanical pencil, and of the upright piano.-Life:...
was looking to obtain a fine and hard point for fountain pen nibs and in 1834 managed to create an iridium-pointed gold pen. In 1880
John HollandJohn Holland was a prominent businessman and industrialist whose "John Holland Gold Pen Company" was a large maker of pens and related products during the late 19th century...
and William Lofland Dudley were able to melt iridium by adding
phosphorusPhosphorus is the chemical element that has the symbol P and atomic number 15. A multivalent nonmetal of the nitrogen group, phosphorus as a mineral is almost always present in its maximally oxidized state, as inorganic phosphate rocks...
and patented the process in the United States; British company
Johnson MattheyJohnson Matthey plc is multinational chemicals and precious metals company headquartered in London, United Kingdom.It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.-History:...
later stated that they had been using a similar process since 1837 and had already presented fused iridium at a number of World Fairs. The first use of an alloy of iridium with ruthenium in
thermocoupleA thermocouple is a device consisting of two different conductors that produce a voltage proportional to a temperature difference between either end of the pair of conductors. Thermocouples are a widely used type of temperature sensor for measurement and control and can also be used to convert a...
s was made by Otto Feussner in 1933. These allowed for the measurement of high temperatures in air up to 2000 °C.
In 1957 Rudolf Mössbauer, in what has been called one of the "landmark experiments in twentieth century physics", discovered the resonant and
recoilRecoil is the backward momentum of a gun when it is discharged. In technical terms, the recoil caused by the gun exactly balances the forward momentum of the projectile and exhaust gasses, according to Newton's third law...
-free emission and absorption of
gamma rayGamma radiation, also known as gamma rays or hyphenated as gamma-rays and denoted as γ, is electromagnetic radiation of high frequency . Gamma rays are usually naturally produced on Earth by decay of high energy states in atomic nuclei...
s by atoms in a solid metal sample containing only
191Ir. This phenomenon, known as the
Mössbauer effectThe Mössbauer effect, or recoilless nuclear resonance fluorescence, is a physical phenomenon discovered by Rudolf Mössbauer in 1958. It involves the resonant and recoil-free emission and absorption of γ radiation by atomic nuclei bound in a solid...
(which has since been observed for other nuclei, such as
57Fe), and developed as Mössbauer spectroscopy, has made important contributions to research in physics, chemistry, biochemistry, metallurgy, and mineralogy. Mössbauer received the
Nobel Prize in PhysicsThe Nobel Prize in Physics is awarded once a year by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895 and awarded since 1901; the others are the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Peace Prize, and...
in 1961, just three years after he published his discovery.
Occurrence
Iridium is one of the
least abundant elementsThe abundance of a chemical element measures how relatively common the element is, or how much of the element is present in a given environment by comparison to all other elements...
in the Earth's
crustIn geology, the crust is the outermost solid shell of a rocky planet or natural satellite, which is chemically distinct from the underlying mantle...
, having an average mass fraction of 0.001 ppm in crustal rock;
goldGold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
is 40 times more abundant,
platinumPlatinum is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Pt and an atomic number of 78. Its name is derived from the Spanish term platina del Pinto, which is literally translated into "little silver of the Pinto River." It is a dense, malleable, ductile, precious, gray-white transition metal...
is 10 times more abundant, and
silverSilver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
and
mercuryMercury is a chemical element with the symbol Hg and atomic number 80. It is also known as quicksilver or hydrargyrum...
are 80 times more abundant.
Tellurium is about as abundant as iridium, and only three naturally occurring elements are less abundant:
rheniumRhenium is a chemical element with the symbol Re and atomic number 75. It is a silvery-white, heavy, third-row transition metal in group 7 of the periodic table. With an average concentration of 1 part per billion , rhenium is one of the rarest elements in the Earth's crust. The free element has...
,
rutheniumRuthenium is a chemical element with symbol Ru and atomic number 44. It is a rare transition metal belonging to the platinum group of the periodic table. Like the other metals of the platinum group, ruthenium is inert to most chemicals. The Russian scientist Karl Ernst Claus discovered the element...
, and
rhodiumRhodium is a chemical element that is a rare, silvery-white, hard and chemically inert transition metal and a member of the platinum group. It has the chemical symbol Rh and atomic number 45. It is composed of only one isotope, 103Rh. Naturally occurring rhodium is found as the free metal, alloyed...
, iridium being 10 times more abundant than the last two. In contrast to its low abundance in crustal rock, iridium is relatively common in
meteoriteA meteorite is a natural object originating in outer space that survives impact with the Earth's surface. Meteorites can be big or small. Most meteorites derive from small astronomical objects called meteoroids, but they are also sometimes produced by impacts of asteroids...
s, with concentrations of 0.5 ppm or more. It is thought that the overall concentration of iridium on Earth is much higher than what is observed in crustal rocks, but because of the density and
siderophilicThe Goldschmidt classification, developed by Victor Goldschmidt, is a geochemical classification which groups the chemical elements according to their preferred host phases into lithophile , siderophile , chalcophile , and atmophile .Some elements have affinities to more than one phase...
("iron-loving") character of iridium, it descended below the crust and into the
Earth's coreThe inner core of the Earth, its innermost hottest part as detected by seismological studies, is a primarily solid ball about in radius, or about 70% that of the Moon...
when the planet was still molten.
Iridium is found in nature as an uncombined element or in natural
alloyAn alloy is a mixture or metallic solid solution composed of two or more elements. Complete solid solution alloys give single solid phase microstructure, while partial solutions give two or more phases that may or may not be homogeneous in distribution, depending on thermal history...
s; especially the iridium–osmium alloys,
osmiridiumOsmiridium, are names given to natural alloys of osmium and iridium, with traces of other platinum group metals. Osmiridium has been defined as containing a higher proportion of iridium, while iridosmine contains more osmium...
(osmium rich), and iridiosmium (iridium rich). In the
nickelNickel is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel belongs to the transition metals and is hard and ductile...
and
copperCopper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
deposits the platinum group metals occur as
sulfideA sulfide is an anion of sulfur in its lowest oxidation state of 2-. Sulfide is also a slightly archaic term for thioethers, a common type of organosulfur compound that are well known for their bad odors.- Properties :...
s (i.e. (Pt,Pd)S),
telluridesThe telluride ion is Te2−. It is the final stable member of the series of dianions O2−, S2−, and Se2− ....
(i.e. PtBiTe),
antimonideAntimonides are compounds of antimony with more electropositive elements. The antimonide ion is Sb3−.Many of them are flammable or decomposed by oxygen when heated since the antimonide ion is a reducing agent....
s (PdSb), and
arsenideArsenide is an arsenic anion with the charge −3. The trianion is formed by the reduction of arsenic by three electrons. For example heating arsenic powder with excess sodium gives sodium arsenide . The anions have no existence in solution since they are extremely basic...
s (i.e. ). In all of these compounds platinum is exchanged by a small amount of iridium and osmium. As with all of the platinum group metals, iridium can be found naturally in alloys with raw nickel or
raw copperCopper, as native copper, is one of the few metallic elements to occur in uncombined form as a natural mineral, although most commonly occurs in oxidized states and mixed with other elements...
.
Within the Earth's crust, iridium is found at highest concentrations in three types of geologic structure: igneous deposits (crustal intrusions from below), impact craters, and deposits reworked from one of the former structures. The largest known primary reserves are in the
Bushveld igneous complexThe Bushveld Igneous Complex is a large layered igneous intrusion within the Earth's crust which has been tilted and eroded and now outcrops around what appears to be the edge of a great geological basin, the Transvaal Basin. Located in South Africa, the BIC contains some of the richest ore...
in
South AfricaThe Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, though the large copper–nickel deposits near Norilsk in
RussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, and the
Sudbury BasinThe Sudbury Basin, also known as Sudbury Structure or the Sudbury Nickel Irruptive, is a major geologic structure in Ontario, Canada. It is the second-largest known impact crater or astrobleme on Earth, as well as one of the oldest....
in
CanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
are also significant sources of iridium. Smaller reserves are found in the United States. Iridium is also found in secondary deposits, combined with platinum and other platinum group metals in
alluvialAlluvium is loose, unconsolidated soil or sediments, eroded, deposited, and reshaped by water in some form in a non-marine setting. Alluvium is typically made up of a variety of materials, including fine particles of silt and clay and larger particles of sand and gravel...
deposits. The alluvial deposits used by
pre-ColumbianThe pre-Columbian era incorporates all period subdivisions in the history and prehistory of the Americas before the appearance of significant European influences on the American continents, spanning the time of the original settlement in the Upper Paleolithic period to European colonization during...
people in the
Chocó DepartmentChocó is a department of Colombia known for its large Afro-Colombian population. It is in the west of the country, and is the only Colombian department to have coastlines on both the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean. It also has all of Colombia's border with Panama. Its capital is...
of
ColombiaColombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
are still a source for platinum-group metals. As of 2003 the world reserves had not been estimated.
K–T boundary presence
The
K–T boundaryThe K–T boundary is a geological signature, usually a thin band, dated to 65.5 ± 0.3 Ma ago. K is the traditional abbreviation for the Cretaceous period, and T is the abbreviation for the Tertiary period...
of 65 million years ago, marking the temporal border between the
CretaceousThe Cretaceous , derived from the Latin "creta" , usually abbreviated K for its German translation Kreide , is a geologic period and system from circa to million years ago. In the geologic timescale, the Cretaceous follows the Jurassic period and is followed by the Paleogene period of the...
and
TertiaryThe Tertiary is a deprecated term for a geologic period 65 million to 2.6 million years ago. The Tertiary covered the time span between the superseded Secondary period and the Quaternary...
periods of
geological timeThe geologic time scale provides a system of chronologic measurement relating stratigraphy to time that is used by geologists, paleontologists and other earth scientists to describe the timing and relationships between events that have occurred during the history of the Earth...
, was identified by a thin
stratumIn geology and related fields, a stratum is a layer of sedimentary rock or soil with internally consistent characteristics that distinguish it from other layers...
of
iridium-rich clayThe term iridium anomaly commonly refers to an unusual abundance of the chemical element iridium in a layer of rock strata, often taken as evidence of an extraterrestrial impact event because of the case of such an anomaly at the Cretaceous–Tertiary boundary...
. A team led by Luis Alvarez proposed in 1980 an extraterrestrial origin for this iridium, attributing it to an
asteroidAsteroids are a class of small Solar System bodies in orbit around the Sun. They have also been called planetoids, especially the larger ones...
or
cometA comet is an icy small Solar System body that, when close enough to the Sun, displays a visible coma and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena are both due to the effects of solar radiation and the solar wind upon the nucleus of the comet...
impact. Their theory, known as the
Alvarez hypothesisThe Alvarez hypothesis claims that the mass extinction of the dinosaurs and many other living things was caused by the impact of a large asteroid on the Earth sixty-five million years ago, called the Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction event. Evidence indicates that the asteroid fell in the Yucatán...
, is now widely accepted to explain the demise of the
dinosaurDinosaurs are a diverse group of animals of the clade and superorder Dinosauria. They were the dominant terrestrial vertebrates for over 160 million years, from the late Triassic period until the end of the Cretaceous , when the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event led to the extinction of...
s. A large buried impact crater structure with an estimated age of about 65 million years was later identified under what is now the
Yucatán PeninsulaThe Yucatán Peninsula, in southeastern Mexico, separates the Caribbean Sea from the Gulf of Mexico, with the northern coastline on the Yucatán Channel...
(the
Chicxulub craterThe Chicxulub crater is an ancient impact crater buried underneath the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico. Its center is located near the town of Chicxulub, after which the crater is named...
). Dewey M. McLean and others argue that the iridium may have been of
volcanic2. Bedrock3. Conduit 4. Base5. Sill6. Dike7. Layers of ash emitted by the volcano8. Flank| 9. Layers of lava emitted by the volcano10. Throat11. Parasitic cone12. Lava flow13. Vent14. Crater15...
origin instead, as the
EarthEarth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
's core is rich in iridium, and active volcanoes such as
Piton de la FournaisePiton de la Fournaise : "Peak of the Furnace" is a shield volcano on the eastern side of Réunion island in the Indian Ocean. It is currently one of the most active volcanoes in the world, along with Kīlauea in the Hawaiian Islands , Stromboli, Etna and Mount Erebus in Antarctica...
, in the island of
RéunionRéunion is a French island with a population of about 800,000 located in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar, about south west of Mauritius, the nearest island.Administratively, Réunion is one of the overseas departments of France...
, are still releasing iridium.
Production
(
$The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
/
oztThe troy ounce is a unit of imperial measure. In the present day it is most commonly used to gauge the weight of precious metals. One troy ounce is nowadays defined as exactly 0.0311034768 kg = 31.1034768 g. There are approximately 32.1507466 troy oz in 1 kg...
)
|-
|2001||415.25
|-
|2002||294.62
|-
|2003||93.02
|-
|2004||185.33
|-
|2005||169.51
|-
|2006||349.45
|-
|2007||444.43
|-
|2008||448.34
|-
|2009||420.4
|-
|2010||635
|}
mining and processing. During electrorefining of copper and nickel, noble metals such as silver, gold and the platinum group metals as well as
, which forms the starting point for their extraction. In order to separate the metals, they must first be brought into solution. Several methods are available depending on the separation process and the composition of the mixture; two representative methods are fusion with
After it is dissolved, iridium is separated from the other platinum group metals by precipitating or by extracting with organic amines. The first method is similar to the procedure Tennant and Wollaston used for their separation. The second method can be planned as continuous liquid–liquid extraction and is therefore more suitable for industrial scale production. In either case, the product is reduced using hydrogen, yielding the metal as a powder or sponge that can be treated using
s (ozt).
The price of iridium as of 2007 was $440 USD/ozt, but the price fluctuates considerably, as shown in the table. The high
of the prices of the platinum group metals has been attributed to supply, demand,
, and hoarding, amplified by the small size of the market and instability in the producing countries.
s (3,700 kg), out of which 25,000 ozt (780 kg) were used for electrical applications such as spark plugs; 34,000 ozt (1,100 kg) for electrochemical applications such as electrodes for the
The high melting point, hardness and corrosion resistance of iridium and its alloys determine most of its applications. Iridium and especially iridium–platinum alloys or osmium–iridium alloys have a low wear and are used, for example, for multi-pored
. Osmium–iridium is used for
Corrosion and heat resistance makes iridium an important alloying agent. Certain long-life aircraft engine parts are made of an iridium alloy and an iridium–
alloy is used for deep-water pipes because of its corrosion resistance. Iridium is also used as a hardening agent in platinum alloys. The Vickers hardness of pure platinum is 56 HV while platinum with 50% of iridium can reach over 500 HV.
Devices that must withstand extremely high temperatures are often made from iridium. For example, high-temperature
s) for use in computer memory devices and in solid state lasers. The crystals, such as
and yttrium gallium garnet, are grown by melting pre-sintered charges of mixed oxides under oxidizing conditions at temperatures up to 2100 °C. Its resistance to arc erosion makes iridium alloys ideal for electrical contacts for
. Iridium itself is used as a catalyst in a type of automobile engine introduced in 1996 called the direct-ignition engine.
The radioisotope iridium-192 is one of the two most important sources of energy for use in industrial γ-radiography for non-destructive testing of
s. Additionally,
, a form of radiotherapy where a sealed radioactive source is placed inside or next to the area requiring treatment. Specific treatments include high dose rate prostate brachytherapy, bilary duct brachytherapy, and intracavitary cervix brachytherapy.
. The meter bar was replaced as the definition of the fundamental unit of length in 1960 by a line in the atomic spectrum of krypton,
. Iridium was chosen to encapsulate the
fuel in the generator because it can withstand the operating temperatures of up to 2000 °C and for its great strength.
Another use concerns X-ray optics, especially X-ray telescopes. The mirrors of the
are coated with a layer of iridium 60 nm thick. Iridium proved to be the best choice for reflecting X-rays after nickel, gold, and platinum were also tested. The iridium layer, which had to be smooth to within a few atoms, was applied by depositing iridium vapor under
. Antiprotons are made by shooting a high-intensity proton beam at a
, which needs to be made from a very high density material. Although
(C–H activation) is an area of research on reactions that cleave carbon–hydrogen bonds, which were traditionally regarded as unreactive. The first reported successes at activating C–H bonds in saturated hydrocarbons, published in 1982, used organometallic iridium complexes that undergo an
Iridium complexes are being investigated as catalysts for asymmetric hydrogenation. These catalysts have been used in the synthesis of
s and able to hydrogenate certain difficult substrates, such as unfunctionalized alkenes, enantioselectively (generating only one of the two possible
nibs. The first major use of iridium was in 1834 in nibs mounted on gold. Since 1944, the famous
fountain pen was fitted with a nib tipped by a ruthenium and iridium alloy (with 3.8% iridium). The tip material in modern fountain pens is still conventionally called "iridium," although there is seldom any iridium in it; other metals such as tungsten have taken its place.
. According to a report of the
, one of the pieces being exhibited by Johnson and Matthey "has been used in a Withworth gun for more than 3000 rounds, and scarcely shows signs of wear yet. Those who know the constant trouble and expense which are occasioned by the wearing of the vent-pieces of cannon when in active service, will appreciate this important adaptation".
an intense black; it was said that "all other porcelain black colors appear grey by the side of it".
Iridium in bulk metallic form is not biologically important or hazardous to health due to its lack of reactivity with tissues; there are only about 20 parts per trillion of iridium in human tissue. However, finely divided iridium powder can be hazardous to handle, as it is an irritant and may ignite in air.
Very little is known about the toxicity of iridium compounds because they are used in very small amounts, but soluble salts, such as the iridium halides, could be hazardous due to elements other than iridium or due to iridium itself. However, most iridium compounds are insoluble, which makes absorption into the body difficult.
A radioisotope of iridium, , is dangerous like other radioactive isotopes. The only reported injuries related to iridium concern accidental exposure to radiation from used in
. High-energy gamma radiation from can increase the risk of cancer. External exposure can cause burns,
, and death. Ingestion of
Ir can burn the linings of the stomach and the intestines.