Patent ID: 8157886

Claim:
A method for providing a finely divided palladium metal powder, comprising the steps of: a. forming a first paste, comprising a first aqueous mixture of an ammonium or alkali metal tetrahalopalladate, a polyethylene glycol hexadecyl ether surfactant and water; b. forming a second paste comprising an aqueous mixture of ammonium hydroxide and ascorbic acid or a salt of ascorbic acid, a polyethylene glycol hexadecyl ether surfactant, and water; c. cooling the first and second pastes to about −20° C.; d. kneading the first and second paste together on a surface cooled to about −20° C. to form a mixed paste; e. warming the mixed paste to room temperature to initiate a reduction reaction to form a reacted mixed paste; f. forming a liquid suspension of the reacted mixed paste in a quantity of a heated polar solvent; g. separating the liquid suspension into a precipitated solid and a supernatant; h. recovering the precipitated solid; i. drying the precipitated solid thereby providing a quantity of finely divided powder of palladium metal.