Platinum chloride is a useful inorganic reagent which has been used in the preparation and characterization of Ru-Pt core-shell nanoparticles.
Safety Profile
Moderately toxic by
ingestion. A skin irritant. Human mutation
data reported. When heated to
decomposition it emits toxic fumes of Cl-.
See also PLATINUM COMPOUNDS.
Purification Methods
It is purified by heating at 450o in a stream of Cl2 for 2hours. Some sublimation occurs because the PtCl2 sublimes completely at 560o as red (almost black) needles. This sublimate can be combined to the bulk chloride, and while still at ca 450o it should be transferred to a container and cooled in a desiccator. A probable impurity is PtCl4. To test for this add a few drops of H2O (in which PtCl4 is soluble) to the salt, filter and add an equal volume of saturated aqueous NH4Cl to the filtrate. If no precipitate is formed within 1minute, then the product is pure. If a precipitate appears, then the whole material should be washed with small volumes of H2O until the soluble PtCl4 is removed. The purified PtCl2 is partly dried by suction and then dried in a vacuum desiccator over P2O5. It is insoluble in H2O but soluble in HCl to form chloroplatinic acid (H2PtCl4) by disproportionation. [Cohen Inorg Synth VI 209 1960.]
