Platinum is one of the best conductors while being less reactive than most, while being tougher than gold and silver. Platinum (and platinized titanium or other

Platinum is one of the best conductors while being less reactive than most, while being tougher than gold and silver. Platinum (and platinized titanium or other cores) anodes are common in industry. A home experimenter could just try copper, expecting a much faster consumption and reaction rate, and see what happens. I agree that it's not obvious that it would ruin basic experiments immediately.