Platinum Black? (Was: Re: [rescue] SCRAPPLE)

[BSD Bob the old greybeard BSD freak]

> >The sad thing is, now you can't even buy platinum black from a chem
> >supplier without business ID and the DEA coming by to see what you're up
> >to.  Being an unauthorized curious experimenter is now officially a crime.
> 
> Ok, I've got to ask...
> What illicit substance is platinum black used in?

Platinum black is used to plate inert chemical electrodes.  I use it
all the time in electical conductivity experiments.  Basically, you
take chloroplatinic acid solution and plate it out using a DC current
of a few ma at 1.5 volts or so onto the electrodes.  I can't even imagine
what the DEA would what to know about the stuff.  Other than being maybe
mildly toxic, and able to cause irritations and alergies, it is not that
problematic a compound.  I have used it in the lab, here, for over 20
years with complete safety.

Bob