Oxidation state +10 may exist in a platinum compound

Two scientists in the US have predicted that the +10 oxidation state exists.

Up until 2010, it was assumed an atom’s oxidation number in a compound could only range between -4 and +8. But an international group of scientists predicted the +9 oxidation state could exist in an iridium oxide cation, [IrO₄]⁺. A team in China confirmed this prediction in 2014, forming [IrO₄]⁺ via the pulsed-laser vaporisation of iridium.

Now, Haoyu Yu and Donald Truhlar, both based at the University of Minnesota, have calculated the +10 state will exist in the platinum oxide, PtO₄²⁺. Using density functional theory, the team looked at the enthalpy profiles and atomic charges of several platinum and palladium compounds.

PtO₄²⁺ is the most stable in the +10 state with a lifetime of 313 days. The team also noted the compound shares a similar electronic structure to [IrO₄]⁺.