PGM chemicals
Platinum group metals, turned into precision chemistry.
High-purity speciality chemicals and catalyst precursors from platinum, palladium, iridium, rhodium and ruthenium — for hydrogen, industry, petrochemicals and life sciences.
The capability
This is the core of the platform.
Isondo's central capability is the conversion of refined platinum group metal into high-purity specialty chemicals and catalyst precursors, across all five PGMs — platinum, palladium, rhodium, ruthenium and iridium. We manufacture a catalogue of compounds serving twelve industry sectors.
These are the essential intermediate inputs from which catalysts, coatings, electronic films and finished components are made. In nearly every industrial application, the metal must first become a specialty chemical of high and consistent purity before it can be used at all.
Each metal supports its own family of compounds, rising in purity, complexity and value toward the most demanding electronic-grade and homogeneous-catalysis applications. The same chemistry feeds our own catalyst and MEA manufacturing, which is the honest reason to trust it: every compound we sell is one our own production line depends on.
Product range
Five metals, five families of chemistry.
Platinum, palladium and rhodium dominate global PGM demand and give us a broad, established commercial base. Ruthenium and iridium are the fastest-growing demand vectors, and their precursor chemistry is produced at scale in only a handful of locations worldwide.
The established base
Platinum, palladium & rhodium
Mature, high-volume precursor chemistry serving autocatalysis, refining and chemical manufacturing.
| Metal | Key chemicals & precursors | Primary applications |
|---|---|---|
| Platinum | Chloroplatinic acid; tetraammineplatinum salts; Pt nitrate; Pt acetylacetonate | Refining & reforming catalysts; silicone and hydrosilylation; fuel cells; oncology APIs |
| Palladium | Pd nitrate; Pd chloride; tetraamminepalladium salts; Pd acetate | Autocatalysts; cross-coupling & hydrogenation; electronics (MLCC, plating) |
| Rhodium | Rhodium nitrate; rhodium chloride; rhodium acetate | Three-way autocatalysts; hydroformylation; fine-chemical synthesis |
The growth vectors
Ruthenium & iridium
Driven by green hydrogen — iridium for PEM electrolysers — and by advanced electronics, where ruthenium is moving into chip interconnects and data storage. This precursor chemistry commands premium value, and it is a gap we are positioned to fill at source.
| Metal | Key chemicals & precursors | Primary applications |
|---|---|---|
| Ruthenium | RuCl3; ammonium and potassium hexachlororuthenate; Ru nitrosyl nitrate; Ru(acac)3; RuO2; ALD/CVD precursors | Semiconductor films; ammonia cracking; MMO anodes; hydrogenation |
| Iridium | Iridium chloride; hexachloroiridates; Ir acetylacetonate; specialised Ir precursors | PEM electrolyser catalysts; high-temperature electrodes; electronics |
Working with a compound that is not listed? Our chemistry team develops formulations to specification — tell us what you need.
From metal to precursor
One master chloride opens an entire family.
Across every platinum group metal, a single master chloride or salt is the gateway to a whole downstream family of compounds.
That is why establishing this chemistry at source matters so much. It captures value at the highest-margin point in the chain, and it gives customers security of supply for inputs that are otherwise concentrated in a very small number of foreign hands.
It is also why a qualification programme with Isondo is worth more than a single product line. Once a partner has qualified our chemistry for one compound, the rest of that metal's family — and the other four metals — sit behind the same door.
Cleanroom production
A Class C / ISO 7 background with localised Class B / ISO 6 zones — the controlled environment required for high-purity and electronic-grade materials, and a capability very few beneficiators anywhere hold.
Verified before release
Every batch is characterised in our own accredited analytical laboratories for PGM content, purity and particle characteristics before it leaves the building.
Catalyst precursors
The step before the catalyst.
Specialised precursor materials designed for catalyst production in fuel cells, electrolysers and other high-performance systems.
Purity and speciation at the precursor stage set the ceiling on everything downstream — particle size, dispersion, metal utilisation and ultimately durability. We treat precursors as a product in their own right rather than an intermediate, because that is how they behave in the finished catalyst.
- Precursor synthesis for PEM fuel cell and electrolyser catalysts
- Formulations developed to customer performance specification
- Characterised in our own accredited laboratories before release
- Recovered metal re-enters the same precursor chemistry
Where it is used
Twelve industry sectors draw on this chemistry.
Our customers span pharmaceuticals and fine chemicals, petrochemicals, electronics and semiconductors, automotive, glass and ceramics, mining and metallurgy, medical devices, and the emerging green hydrogen sector.
Our commercial base does not depend on any single one of them. The mature, high-volume sectors generate revenue today, while the same capability is positioned for the fastest-growing demand vectors — with advanced electronics the clearest of them.
- Automotive & autocatalysts — Pd, Rh, Pt
- Petrochemicals & refining — Pt, Pd
- Pharmaceutical & fine chemicals — Pd, Ru, Rh, Pt
- Green hydrogen & fuel cells — Ir, Pt
- Glass & ceramics — Pt, Rh, Ru, Ir
- Electronics & semiconductors — Ru, Ir, Pt, Pd
- Mining & metallurgy — all five PGMs
- Medical devices — Pt, Pd, Ir
Refining
Closing the loop back to metal.
Our capability does not stop at selling chemistry. We recover platinum group metals from spent catalysts and end-of-life assemblies and refine them back to high purity, returning them to market as inputs for catalysts, fuel cells and hydrogen technologies.
For a customer buying PGM chemicals, that matters commercially as well as environmentally: the metal in the product has a recoverable residual value, and the same facility that supplied it can take it back.
PGM refining
Refining recovered platinum group metals to world-class purity for reintroduction into high-value clean energy applications.
Ionomer & membrane recycling
Recovery and recycling of ionomer and PFSA membrane materials from electrochemical components, supporting sustainable manufacture and reducing material waste. In development alongside the metal recovery route.
Send us the compound and the grade.
Tell us the chemical, the purity you need, the volumes and the application. Our chemistry team will come back on what we can supply and when.