Discovered in: 1803

Discovered by: William Hyde Wollaston of England

Description: Named after the Greek word meaning rose, rhodium is a lustrous, hard silvery-white metal. Much like ruthenium, it is stable, being affect only by hot alkalis. Rhodium's primary use is as a catalyst. It is also alloyed with palladium and platinum to harden those metals. It is also used in the coating of mirrors and to form a hard, lustrous coating for silverware, jewelry and camera parts. It is a component of automobile catalytic converters, which help clean up exhaust gases. It is the most valuable platinum group metal.

Biological Rating: No known benefit for life processes.

Biological Benefits: Rhodium has no known biological use.

Percentage Amount in the Human Body: 0 %

Obtained from: Rhodium is stable enough to be frequently found in its pure form. Rhodplumsite is a somewhat common rhodium-bearing mineral. Rhodium is obtained as a by-product from mining platinum and palladium in the USA(Montana), South Africa and Russia.