PLATINIZED MAGNESIUM AS REDUCING AGENT FOR HYDROGEN ISOTOPE ANALYSIS

Platinized magnesium has recently been proposed as a new reducing agen t for the conversion of small quantities of water to hydrogen in a dam e-sealed borosilicate glass tube at 400 degrees C for isotopic analysi s. The reagent, Mg-Pt, in contrast to zinc can be prepared in every la boratory by coating a magnesium granulate with a thin layer of platinu m by reaction with H2PtCl6 . 6H(2)O dissolved in acetone-ether mixture . Excellent reproducibility of the isotope ratios in hydrogen gas prep ared from water samples has been obtained using 4 mu l of water and 12 0 mg of the reagent.