platinum black
- noun
- Specialized
:
negro de platino
- The chemist used platinum black to speed up the reaction in the laboratory.
Examples
-
Fuel cells often use platinum black as an efficient catalyst at the electrode.
-
To purify hydrogen, engineers passed the gas over heated platinum black.
-
The chemist used platinum black as a catalyst in the reaction.
-
I need to order some platinum blacks for my experiment.
-
Fuel cells often use platinum black as an efficient catalyst in chemical reactions.
-
The chemist utilized platinum black to enhance the efficiency of the reaction in the lab.
-
For the synthesis process, researchers relied on platinum black to facilitate the chemical reaction.
Surface Forms
Morphology
platinum + black
The noun phrase is directly descriptive: a B1 learner who knows 'platinum' (the metal) and 'black' (the color/appearance) will readily infer it denotes a black form of platinum, plausibly a finely divided or blackened material used for catalytic purposes. This is a literal, compositional adjective+noun combination rather than an idiom, and the same descriptive logic exists in many languages, so it is transparently interpretable.
Etymology
Platinum black is a simple name that joins the metal platinum with the word black to show it is a fine, black powder made from platinum. Because this powder helps chemical reactions happen faster, people use it as a 'catalyst'.
