: a rare silvery-white hard ductile metallic element that is resistant to acids, sometimes occurs naturally in pure form but is usually obtained from nickel ores, and is used especially as a catalyst and in platinum alloys see Chemical Elements Table
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the WebThe catalytic converter contains valuable precious metals including rhodium, palladium and platinum, which can fetch hundreds of dollars in resale on the black market. Robert Channick, Chicago Tribune, 31 Aug. 2022 Catalytic converters are targeted for the valuable metals inside — rhodium, platinum and palladium. Ashley R. Williams, USA TODAY, 13 Aug. 2022 Crafted in 14-karat white gold and polished in rhodium plating, these earrings will be the shining highlight of literally any outfit. Bernd Fischer, Men's Health, 25 July 2022 Thefts of catalytic converters — an antipollution car part laden with platinum, palladium and rhodium — have exploded since the pandemic began, fueled by a surge in the value of those metals. Joe Murphy, NBC News, 8 July 2022 This would still be zero for uranium, rhodium, palladium, silver bullion and king crabs.Arkansas Online, 12 Mar. 2022 The J12 Wanted de Chanel is available in either 38mm black ceramic with a bold, white Chanel logo on the dial, or a 33mm white ceramic version with the Chanel letters in polished rhodium on the dial and silver on the bezel. Carol Besler, Forbes, 25 June 2022 Converters are a target of robberies as these contain valuable metals such as platinum, palladium and rhodium. Perry Vandell, The Arizona Republic, 26 May 2022 Most people are aware that platinum is nearly as expensive as gold at over $900 an ounce, but that figure pales in comparison to the price of palladium at over $2,000 an ounce and rhodium at an astronomical $16,000 an ounce. Bill Roberson, Forbes, 30 Apr. 2022 See More
Word History
Etymology
Greek rhódon "rose" + -ium; from the rose color of a chlorine compound of the metal obtained during its isolation
Note: Name introduced by the discoverer of the metal, William Hyde wollaston, in "On a new Metal, found in crude Platina," "read June 24, 1804," Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London for the Year 1804, Part II, p. 419: "My inquiries having terminated more successfully than I had expected, I design the present Memoir to prove the existence, and to examine the properties, of another metal, hitherto unknown, which may not improperly be distinguished by the name of Rhodium, from the rose-colour of a solution of the salts containing it."