# Working with Osmium



## Maget (May 7, 2022)

Hello
I have buy 5.3g of Osmium and plan to make a ring, maybe will need more grams, but I heard that it is hard to work with this metal and also it is poisonous when powdered and it's oxides are same.
First I think how to reach 3100C and use probably Argon, I see that acetylene torch can go up to 3600C if not wrong, but who knows maybe it's not good to blow directly on metal.
I have pellets, the only thing i think is to make a special mold of the ring, from outside to the ring form make a bigger passage than the pellets, put the pellets in that hole, by heating the mold I would expect the metal to flow in to the ring form of the mold.
What is your though of this?


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## Lino1406 (May 7, 2022)

I suggest not to play with osmium. Poisonous especially when heated. Besides, what mold can stand this temperature


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## orvi (May 7, 2022)

Osmium has it´s name because of very distinctive smell of OsO4 - in greek, osme mean smell. It forms when elemental Os is oxidized in the air. I wouldn´t store it anywhere in my house, not to mention to put it on my finger and wear it... Scary to think about.


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## Stibnut (May 7, 2022)

Bulk (non-powdered) osmium at room temperature isn't particularly scary, but when you heat it in air it will form OsO4, which is highly toxic and volatile. You have to use inert gas like argon to cover it at all times and have some sort of setup that would exclude even traces of oxygen. An arc welder is the only practical option to get the sort of temperature you would need - while an oxy-acetylene torch may have a flame temperature of 3600 C it's hard to get anywhere close on something you're heating. Additionally, the metal is hard, brittle, and not very workable, which would make forming a decent-looking ring very difficult even if you managed to melt it without poisoning yourself.

It's too bad it's impractical and dangerous to make jewelry out of it, because a ring out of a blue-tinted, ultradense metal would be awesome! But alas, it's not a good idea.


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## Maget (May 7, 2022)

Lino1406 said:


> I suggest not to play with osmium. Poisonous especially when heated. Besides, what mold can stand this temperature


You mean that no mold will withstand at least 3100C temp?
I think carbon can withstand such temp, example to make a cube that will have the form of the ring in the middle, the cube will be made of 2 split pieces.
Maybe there is something else that can be used as a mold.


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## Maget (May 7, 2022)

orvi said:


> Osmium has it´s name because of very distinctive smell of OsO4 - in greek, osme mean smell. It forms when elemental Os is oxidized in the air. I wouldn´t store it anywhere in my house, not to mention to put it on my finger and wear it... Scary to think about.


Yes I have read on Wikipedia the entire page, it must have smell of garlic if not mistaken, similar to Tellurium.
There it say that the solid metal is not harmful, but powdered metal and it's oxides.
Beside someone *made* already a ring, just googled it, this mean it's not impossible.
I personally consider metals that have their own color are special, it's more attractive than Iridium ring even if it's more rare.


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## orvi (May 7, 2022)

Maget said:


> Yes I have read on Wikipedia the entire page, it must have smell of garlic if not mistaken, similar to Tellurium.
> There it say that the solid metal is not harmful, but powdered metal and it's oxides.
> Beside someone *made* already a ring, just googled it, this mean it's not impossible.
> I personally consider metals that have their own color are special, it's more attractive than Iridium ring even if it's more rare.


I do not say you can´t do it. But that it is not a good idea. I worked with osmium a lot, because I am organic chemist and used it in cleavage and oxidation/hydroxylation reactions. Even a possibility of evolving any OsO4 nearby me get me nervous. 
Aside of hazard, without inert atmosphere arc furnance, you won´t be able to melt it into shape without burning it and poisoning the enviroment. Fine shaping would be very difficult because of brittleness... Apparently you need to cast it in exact shape.


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## Maget (May 7, 2022)

orvi said:


> I do not say you can´t do it. But that it is not a good idea. I worked with osmium a lot, because I am organic chemist and used it in cleavage and oxidation/hydroxylation reactions. Even a possibility of evolving any OsO4 nearby me get me nervous.
> Aside of hazard, without inert atmosphere arc furnance, you won´t be able to melt it into shape without burning it and poisoning the enviroment. Fine shaping would be very difficult because of brittleness... Apparently you need to cast it in exact shape.


Agree, I see the only easy way is to integrate pellets into a ring of Gold or other precious metal, the easiest option at the moment for me.


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## orvi (May 8, 2022)

Maget said:


> Agree, I see the only easy way is to integrate pellets into a ring of Gold or other precious metal, the easiest option at the moment for me.


That could be done, but it will probably alloy with other metals. Maybe resin casting could get you the desired result.


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## Maget (May 8, 2022)

orvi said:


> That could be done, but it will probably alloy with other metals. Maybe resin casting could get you the desired result.


No I was thinking to do like with precious stones which are held without any resin or bonding with other metal, just place and hold with the base metal, not sure how it is named in English those fingers that hold the stone in place.


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## Yggdrasil (May 8, 2022)

Prongs


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## ifernandes.mobile (May 8, 2022)

Osmium is never used in jewelry. It's poisonous. Here is some information on Os.





Fact Sheet: Osmium Tetroxide | PennEHRS


Use: Osmium tetroxide is most commonly used in oxidation reactions and for biological staining. // Hazards: Osmium tetroxide is acutely toxic. It is a severe irritant (eyes, respiratory tract) and can cause irreversible eye damage. Direct contact to the eyes may cause blindness. Osmium tetroxide...




ehrs.upenn.edu


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## snoman701 (May 8, 2022)

Quit confusing Osmium tetroxide with elemental Osmium. As a metal it's been used in situations where a hard, chemically resistant alloy are needed.


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## Yggdrasil (May 8, 2022)

I was waiting for the Lou or someone else to chime in on this! 
As with all PGMs the salts are toxic.
But what do it take to convert solid metal to tetra oxide? 
Can it be done by air and ambient temperatures by them self?
Like Ruthenium, it's benign in metallic form but humble bleach allegedly dissolves it and then it can turn into highly toxic tetra oxide.
I guess it's slightly more complicated, but just as an example.

So in stead of crying wolf, maybe explain how and under which conditions the tetra oxides form?
Regards Per-Ove


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## snoman701 (May 9, 2022)

Highest melting point, lowest vapor pressure....so if you heat above 400 deg C you will start to get some vaporizing off as an oxide....or create powder through mechanical abrasion.


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## jphayesjr (May 9, 2022)

Maget said:


> No I was thinking to do like with precious stones which are held without any resin or bonding with other metal, just place and hold with the base metal, not sure how it is named in English those fingers that hold the stone in place.


The fingers are commonly called "prongs" in English.


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## Yggdrasil (May 9, 2022)

Thanks, that will be a production issue, (major one that is true) not an issue for daily wear. Am I right?
Same with Ru do not use bleach while wearing your Ru ring
Sorry this one got stuck in the out box, do not know why.


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## realTCPL (Aug 29, 2022)

Hello all!

I'm a n00b to gold refining. Still in the planning and research stage right now, since I dont have start-up capital. How prevalent are platinum-group metals as a contaminant in gold jewelry recycling? Specifically, how prevalent is osmium as a contaminant? My research has me apprehensive about accidentally and unwittingly producing OsO4 as a byproduct and poisoning myself. So... If I am just buying gold jewelry, how concerned do I need to be about the solid residue after aqua regia treatment? And if there is osmium in that residue, how do I deal with it?


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## Yggdrasil (Aug 29, 2022)

realTCPL said:


> Hello all!
> 
> I'm a n00b to gold refining. Still in the planning and research stage right now, since I dont have start-up capital. How prevalent are platinum-group metals as a contaminant in gold jewelry recycling? Specifically, how prevalent is osmium as a contaminant? My research has me apprehensive about accidentally and unwittingly producing OsO4 as a byproduct and poisoning myself. So... If I am just buying gold jewelry, how concerned do I need to be about the solid residue after aqua regia treatment? And if there is osmium in that residue, how do I deal with it?


To my knowledge there are no Osmium in jewellery. It has no function there.
Most jewellery is Gold, Silver or Copper which will have none. 
Platinum and Palladium jewellery might have trace amounts but nothing to worry about. And they are quite rare comparing to Gold anyway.


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## fishaholic5 (Aug 29, 2022)

Yggdrasil said:


> I was waiting for the Lou or someone else to chime in on this!
> As with all PGMs the salts are toxic.
> But what do it take to convert solid metal to tetra oxide?
> Can it be done by air and ambient temperatures by them self?
> ...



I've learned this much about Osmium through dealing with it in Ores and refining.
Heating, Nitric acid, Sulfuric acid and Sodium hydroxide all produce the Tetraoxide in quantity.
It is produced more slowly just through reaction with air or water.
While the Tetraoxide is in solution it doesn't volatise to a great extent.. but you can't avoid some volatisation.
Alloying with another metal stops it forming the Tetraoxide.
The Tetraoxide is easiest neutralised in solution by adding HCL before cementing.
Trying to melt it or an alloy containing it is incredibly difficult.

Cheers Wal


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## Lou (Aug 29, 2022)

I once had rings out of Os, Rh and Ru as well as Ir. Os is brittle, and like Ru, fails the drop test.

I don’t see Os a common material to encounter during refining for many people. I encounter it infrequently and I refine PGMs for a living.

Sulfuric and sodium hydroxide do _not_ produce the tetroxide. Nitric acid will, however, attack the sponge…OsO4 comes out of such solutions. Persulfuric acid will, as would perchloric.


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