{"id":113,"date":"2020-04-08T15:05:13","date_gmt":"2020-04-08T15:05:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thechemicalelements.com\/?page_id=113"},"modified":"2023-08-16T09:06:49","modified_gmt":"2023-08-16T09:06:49","slug":"ruthenium","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thechemicalelements.com\/ruthenium\/","title":{"rendered":"Ruthenium (Ru)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Ruthenium is a chemical element with the atomic number 44 in the periodic table. Its abundance in Earth\u2019s crust is calculated to be 0.0001 ppm.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Element 44 is a rare transition metal classified in the platinum<\/a> family of elements. This very rare noble metal has only one valence electron which makes ruthenium inert to most of the other chemicals. Nowadays, ruthenium is extensively used in electronics, but the ongoing clinical trials bring hope that ruthenium could have a future use in anti-cancer therapy as a new-generation organometallic drug.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Chemical and Physical Properties of Ruthenium<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Property<\/strong><\/td>Value<\/strong><\/td><\/tr>
Symbol<\/td>Ru<\/td><\/tr>
Name<\/td>Ruthenium<\/td><\/tr>
Atomic Number<\/td>44<\/td><\/tr>
Group<\/td>8 (Transition metals)<\/td><\/tr>
Atomic Weight<\/td>101.07<\/td><\/tr>
Orbitals<\/td>[Kr] 4d7 5s1<\/td><\/tr>
Electronegativity<\/td>2.2<\/td><\/tr>
Ionic Radius<\/td>.62 (+4) \u00c5<\/td><\/tr>
Discovered By<\/td>J\u0119drzej \u015aniadecki (1808), Karl Ernst Claus (1884)<\/td><\/tr>
Year<\/td>1808, 1884<\/td><\/tr>
Density<\/td>12.1 g.cm-3 at 20\u00b0C<\/td><\/tr>
Description<\/td>A silvery-white metal<\/td><\/tr>
Color<\/td>Silvery-white<\/td><\/tr>
Physical State<\/td>Solid at room temperature<\/td><\/tr>
Half-life<\/td>From 50# milliseconds [>1.5 \u00b5s] to 373.59(15) days<\/td><\/tr>
Density<\/td>12.1 g.cm-3 at 20\u00b0C<\/td><\/tr>
Melting Point<\/td>2333\u00b0C, 4231\u00b0F, 2606 K<\/td><\/tr>
Boiling Point<\/td>4147\u00b0C, 7497\u00b0F, 4420 K<\/td><\/tr>
Van der Waals Radius<\/td>0.135 nm<\/td><\/tr>
Isotopes<\/td>34<\/td><\/tr>
Most Characteristic Isotope<\/td>101Ru, 102Ru, 104Ru<\/td><\/tr>
The Energy of the First Ionization<\/td>722.4 kJ.mol-1<\/td><\/tr>
The Energy of the Second Ionization<\/td>1620 kJ.mol-1<\/td><\/tr>
The Energy of the Third Ionization<\/td>2747 kJ.mol-1<\/td><\/tr>
Discovery Date<\/td>1808 by J\u0119drzej \u015aniadecki, 1884 by Karl Ernst Claus<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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With the periodic table symbol Ru, atomic number 44, atomic mass of 101.07 g.mol<\/span>-1<\/span>, and electron configuration [Kr] 4d<\/span>7<\/span>5s<\/span>1<\/span>, ruthenium is a very hard, brittle, silvery-white metal substance that is classified as a transition metal. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ruthenium reaches its boiling point at 4147\u00b0C, 7497\u00b0F, 4420 K, while the melting point is achieved at 2333\u00b0C, 4231\u00b0F, 2606 K. This member of the platinum group of elements in the periodic table has an electronegativity of 2.2 according to Pauling, whereas the atomic radius according to van der Waals is 0.135 nm. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Similarly to all other platinum group metals, ruthenium also has excellent anti-corrosive properties. This rather inert chemical element does not react with acids, water, and air, even with aqua regia.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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How Was Ruthenium Discovered?<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The story of ruthenium\u2019s discovery begins in 1807, when the Polish chemist and physician Andrew Sniadecki (orig. Jedrzej Sniadecki) thought he had discovered a new metal in a platinum ore he was analysing. He named the new substance \u201cvestium\u201d. However, since all his fellow colleagues\u2019 efforts to reproduce Sniadecki\u2019s experiment failed, the Polish chemist gave up on further analysis of the substance.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Twenty years later, 1828, the Swedish chemist Jons Jacob Berzelius and Russian chemist Gottfried W. Osann tried to dissolve the crude platinum ores in aqua regia, after which they dedicated their time to analysing the residues of this process. Ossan was convinced that there are not one, but three new elements in the substance. He labeled them as pluranium, polonium<\/a>, and ruthenium. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

His colleague, however, was not so enthusiastic about these results. Berzelius considered that more chemical analyses are needed for the scientific evidence derived by Ossan to be validated. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This sparked the scientific interest of the Russian chemist Karl Karlovich Klaus (1796-1864). Klaus revised the possibility of a new metal contained in the platinum ores obtained from the Ural Mountains. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1844, in Kazan, Russia, Karl K. Klaus first attempted to reproduce Snaidecki\u2019s experiment. For this, he first isolated the salt (ammonium chlororuthenate, (NH4)2RuCl6) in which he observed the occurrence of the new metal. With an additional effort, Klaus succeeded in isolating the ruthenium metal from the platinum ore. This Russian scientist is also credited as the first scientist to determine the chemical properties of this new transition metal.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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How Did Ruthenium Get Its Name?<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Element 44 got its name from the Latin word \u2018<\/span>Ruthenia<\/span><\/i>\u2019 meaning Russia. This relates to the fact that the platinum ores in which ruthenium is traced were originally obtained from the Ural Mountains in Russia. The name of this chemical element is also a nod to the home country of its discoverer.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Where Can You Find Ruthenium?<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Ruthenium naturally occurs in platinum ores. It\u2019s mainly found in the mineral <\/span>laurite<\/span><\/i> that can be frequently traced along the minerals cooperite, osmiridium, pentlandite, sperrylite, chrominte, and braggite. It also can be obtained from the minerals that contain the other platinum group elements. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Element 44 is primarily obtained as a byproduct of mining and refining platinum, as well as a byproduct of nickel<\/a> mining from the mineral deposits located in the Sudbury region of Ontario, Canada. The largest deposits in the world of this rare-earth metal are found in South Africa, Canada, South America, and the Ural Mountains, Russia.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Ruthenium in Everyday Life<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Ruthenium metal is especially demanded by the electronic and the chemical industry, but it can be also used in medicine:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n