The complexity of palladium isolation is due to the fact that palladium must be separated from the gold and platinum that it occurs with. Isolation of palladium is not performed on a small laboratory basis because of the difficulties associated with its isolation processes. The first step of the process involves treating the ore with a compound containing hydrochloric acid and nitric acid. The resulting mixture contains a solution of gold, platinum, and palladium in the form of H2PdCl4.
Iron chloride is added to the solution of metals to remove the gold elements; the platinum is removed the solution through a precipitate by treating the remaining solution with ammonium chloride. Palladium is left in the solution in the form of H2PdCl4; this form of palladium is treated with ammonium hydroxide and hydrochloric acid to precipitate out the palladium in the form of PdCl2(NH3)2. Pure palladium metal is then isolated from this complex through burning off the chlorine, nitrogen, and hydrogen.
