Noble-metal powder and the use thereof for producing components

1. A powder composed of spherical noble-metal particles having a particle size distribution with a d 10 value of ≥10.0 μm and a d 90 value of ≤80.0 μm, and wherein the noble-metal particles have a mean crystallite size ≥200 nm.

2. The powder according to claim 1 , wherein the noble metal is a platinum-group metal, gold or silver or an alloy composed of at least two of the aforementioned noble metals.

3. The powder according to claim 2 , wherein the platinum-group metal is platinum, iridium, palladium, ruthenium, rhodium or osmium or an alloy composed of at least two of the aforementioned platinum-group metals.

4. The powder according to claim 1 , wherein the noble-metal particles contain elements which are not noble metals in a proportion of not more than 0.1% by weight.

5. The powder according to claim 1 , wherein the d 90 value and the d 10 value differ by at least 15 μm.

6. The powder according to- claim 1 , wherein the d 10 value is within the range from 10.0 to 35.0 μm, and/or the d 90 value is within the range from 40.0 to 80.0 μm.

7. The powder according to- claim 1 , wherein the noble metal is iridium, the d 10 value is within the range from 20.0 to 30.0 μm, the d 90 value is within the range from 40.0 to 80.0 μm, and the difference between the d 90 value and the d 10 value is at least 20 μm.

8. The powder according to- claim 1 , wherein the powder satisfies the following condition:

F/ρ TH ≤0.30 s/(50 cm 3 )

where F is the flowability of the powder in s/(50 g), determined in accordance with DIN EN ISO 4490:2014-11, and

Σ TH is the theoretical density in g/cm 3 of the noble metal forming the noble-metal particles.

9. The powder according to claim 1 , wherein, based on the number of noble-metal particles, at least 80% of the noble-metal particles satisfy the following condition:

0.8≤ d min /d max ≤1.0;

where d min and d max are the minimum diameter and the maximum diameter, respectively, of the noble-metal particle.

10. The powder according to claim 1 , wherein the powder is obtained via an atomization of liquid noble metal, and optionally a classification carried out after the atomization.

11. A component comprising the powder according to claim 1 , wherein the component is obtained via an additive manufacturing process and has a porosity of less than 10%.

12. An additive manufacturing process for producing a component, comprising the following steps:

(a) applying the powder according to claim 1 , in the form of a first layer to a substrate in a construction space,

(b) at least partially melting the powder of the first layer using radiation and allowing solidification of the melted powder,

(c) applying a further layer of the powder to the first layer,

(d) at least partially melting the powder of the further layer using radiation and allowing solidification of the melted powder, and

(e) repeating steps (c) and (d).