Ruthenium
Ruthenium is a rare, hard, silvery-white metal belonging to the platinum group. It's typically extracted as a byproduct of platinum and nickel mining, and it takes its name from Ruthenia, the Latin name for the Russian region where the ore that revealed it was mined.
- Group · Period
- 8 · 5
- At room temp
- solid
- Melts at
- 2607 K
- Density
- 12.1 g/cm³
- Discovered
- 1827
Uses
Ruthenium’s main industrial role is as a catalyst, speeding up chemical reactions such as hydrogenation and certain steps in acetic acid production. Alloyed in small amounts with platinum or palladium, it significantly hardens those otherwise soft precious metals, which is why it’s used in durable jewelry settings, fountain pen nib tips, and long-lasting electrical contacts. In electronics manufacturing, extremely thin ruthenium films have been used inside hard disk drives to help increase how densely data can be stored.
Ruthenium compounds also play a role in dye-sensitized solar cells, a type of solar technology that uses light-absorbing ruthenium dye molecules instead of traditional silicon to generate electricity.
History
Ruthenium’s discovery unfolded in two stages. In 1827, German-Baltic chemist Gottfried Osann investigated residues left over from processing Ural Mountains platinum ore and reported finding evidence of new elements, including one he called ruthenium, but his results were disputed and he was unable to confirm them convincingly. It took until 1844 for Russian-born chemist Karl Ernst Claus to isolate the element properly from the same type of ore and demonstrate its distinct identity beyond doubt, earning him lasting credit as ruthenium’s discoverer. Claus named the element after Ruthenia, the Latin name for Russia, honoring the region where the platinum ore containing it was mined.
Fun facts
- Ruthenium is named after Ruthenia, the Latin name for Russia, where the platinum ore it was found in was mined.
- Adding a small amount of ruthenium to platinum or palladium makes the alloy noticeably harder, which is why it's used in durable jewelry and electrical contacts.
- Ultra-thin layers of ruthenium have been used inside hard disk drives to boost how much data they can store on a given amount of disk surface.
Frequently asked questions
Who actually discovered ruthenium, and when?
The story has two chapters. In 1827, chemist Gottfried Osann examined residues from Ural platinum ore and reported signs of a new element, but his evidence was inconclusive and not widely accepted at the time. It wasn't until 1844 that Karl Ernst Claus carefully isolated the element and confirmed it beyond doubt, which is why he's usually credited as ruthenium's definitive discoverer.
Why is ruthenium considered one of the rarer precious metals?
It's a platinum-group metal, meaning it's found in small amounts mixed in with platinum and nickel ores rather than in concentrated deposits of its own. Extracting it requires separating it from the other, more abundant platinum-group metals it naturally occurs alongside.
What is ruthenium mainly used for?
Its biggest roles are as an industrial catalyst in chemical manufacturing, as a hardening agent alloyed into platinum and palladium for jewelry and electrical contacts, and as a component in thin electronic films, including layers used inside some hard disk drives.
Compounds
4 notable compounds containing Ru
- RuO2oxide
Ruthenium dioxide
A dark, electrically conductive oxide used as a coating on titanium electrodes because it resists corrosion while efficiently catalyzing chlorine and oxygen evolution.
Used for: Coating on dimensionally stable anodes for the chlor-alkali and electroplating industries
- RuO4reagent
Ruthenium tetroxide
A pale yellow, highly volatile and powerfully oxidizing solid, among the strongest oxidizers used in organic chemistry, requiring careful handling because it can explode.
Used for: Strong oxidant for cleaving alkenes and staining samples for electron microscopy
- RuCl3salt
Ruthenium(III) chloride
A dark, water-soluble salt that is the most common commercial starting material for ruthenium chemistry, used to make countless ruthenium catalysts and complexes.
Used for: Precursor for homogeneous catalysts, including ruthenium olefin metathesis catalysts
- Ru3(CO)12reagent
Triruthenium dodecacarbonyl
An orange cluster compound built from three ruthenium atoms bridged by carbon monoxide ligands, widely studied as a catalyst and a building block for other ruthenium clusters.
Used for: Catalyst precursor in organic synthesis and organometallic research
Isotopes
41 known isotopes
Swipe to see all columns →
| Isotope | Natural abundance | Half-life | Decay mode | Mass excess | Binding energy / nucleon | Decay width |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ru-96 stable | 5.54% | Stable | — | -86,080.39 keV | 8,609.41 keV | — |
| Ru-98 stable | 1.87% | Stable | — | -88,224.87 keV | 8,620.31 keV | — |
| Ru-99 stable | 12.76% | Stable | — | -87,625.39 keV | 8,608.71 keV | — |
| Ru-100 stable | 12.6% | Stable | — | -89,227.39 keV | 8,619.36 keV | — |
| Ru-101 stable | 17.06% | Stable | — | -87,958.11 keV | 8,601.37 keV | — |
| Ru-102 stable | 31.55% | Stable | — | -89,106.44 keV | 8,607.43 keV | — |
| Ru-104 stable | 18.62% | Stable | — | -88,095.76 keV | 8,587.4 keV | — |
Show all 41 isotopes
| Ru-85 | — | 450 ns | Proton emission, ECP, Electron capture / beta-plus decay | -30,630 keV | 8,027 keV | 1.01 × 10-9 eV |
| Ru-86 | — | 438 ns | Electron capture / beta-plus decay, ECP | -39,770 keV | 8,133 keV | 1.04 × 10-9 eV |
| Ru-87 | — | — | Unknown | -45,730 keV | 8,201 keV | — |
| Ru-88 | — | 1.2 s | Electron capture / beta-plus decay (100%), ECP | -54,340 keV | 8,298 keV | 3.80 × 10-16 eV |
| Ru-89 | — | 1.32 s | Electron capture / beta-plus decay (100%), ECP (3.1%) | -58,369.42 keV | 8,340.38 keV | 3.46 × 10-16 eV |
| Ru-90 | — | 11.7 s | Electron capture / beta-plus decay (100%) | -64,883.8 keV | 8,409.77 keV | 3.90 × 10-17 eV |
| Ru-91 | — | 8.0 s | Electron capture / beta-plus decay (100%) | -68,239.83 keV | 8,442.93 keV | 5.70 × 10-17 eV |
| Ru-92 | — | 3.65 m | Electron capture / beta-plus decay (100%) | -74,301.21 keV | 8,504.77 keV | 2.08 × 10-18 eV |
| Ru-93 | — | 59.7 s | Electron capture / beta-plus decay (100%) | -77,216.72 keV | 8,531.46 keV | 7.64 × 10-18 eV |
| Ru-94 | — | 51.8 m | Electron capture / beta-plus decay (100%) | -82,583.6 keV | 8,583.66 keV | 1.47 × 10-19 eV |
| Ru-95 | — | 1.643 h | Electron capture / beta-plus decay (100%) | -83,457.76 keV | 8,587.47 keV | 7.71 × 10-20 eV |
| Ru-97 | — | 2.83 d | Electron capture / beta-plus decay (100%) | -86,120.56 keV | 8,604.28 keV | 1.87 × 10-21 eV |
| Ru-103 | — | 39.247 d | Beta-minus decay (100%) | -87,267.17 keV | 8,584.37 keV | 1.35 × 10-22 eV |
| Ru-105 | — | 4.439 h | Beta-minus decay (100%) | -85,934.54 keV | 8,561.9 keV | 2.85 × 10-20 eV |
| Ru-106 | — | 371.8 d | Beta-minus decay (100%) | -86,323.25 keV | 8,560.94 keV | 1.42 × 10-23 eV |
| Ru-107 | — | 3.75 m | Beta-minus decay (100%) | -83,862.57 keV | 8,533.37 keV | 2.03 × 10-18 eV |
| Ru-108 | — | 4.55 m | Beta-minus decay (100%) | -83,661.4 keV | 8,527.23 keV | 1.67 × 10-18 eV |
| Ru-109 | — | 34.4 s | Beta-minus decay (100%) | -80,738.46 keV | 8,496.23 keV | 1.33 × 10-17 eV |
| Ru-110 | — | 12.04 s | Beta-minus decay (100%) | -80,072.63 keV | 8,486.31 keV | 3.79 × 10-17 eV |
| Ru-111 | — | 2.12 s | Beta-minus decay (100%) | -76,785.33 keV | 8,452.96 keV | 2.15 × 10-16 eV |
| Ru-112 | — | 1.75 s | Beta-minus decay (100%) | -75,630.87 keV | 8,439.24 keV | 2.61 × 10-16 eV |
| Ru-113 | — | 0.80 s | Beta-minus decay (100%) | -71,867.82 keV | 8,402.69 keV | 5.70 × 10-16 eV |
| Ru-114 | — | 0.54 s | Beta-minus decay (100%) | -70,221.21 keV | 8,385.34 keV | 8.45 × 10-16 eV |
| Ru-115 | — | 318 ms | Beta-minus decay (100%), Beta-minus, neutron emission | -66,105.3 keV | 8,346.81 keV | 1.43 × 10-15 eV |
| Ru-116 | — | 204 ms | Beta-minus decay (100%), Beta-minus, neutron emission | -64,068.92 keV | 8,326.88 keV | 2.24 × 10-15 eV |
| Ru-117 | — | 151 ms | Beta-minus decay (100%), Beta-minus, neutron emission | -59,489.87 keV | 8,285.56 keV | 3.02 × 10-15 eV |
| Ru-118 | — | 99 ms | Beta-minus decay (100%), Beta-minus, neutron emission (4.6%) | -57,000 keV | 8,263 keV | 4.61 × 10-15 eV |
| Ru-119 | — | 69.5 ms | Beta-minus decay (100%), Beta-minus, neutron emission, B-2N | -52,080 keV | 8,220 keV | 6.56 × 10-15 eV |
| Ru-120 | — | 45 ms | Beta-minus decay (100%), Beta-minus, neutron emission | -49,720 keV | 8,199 keV | 1.01 × 10-14 eV |
| Ru-121 | — | 29 ms | Beta-minus decay (100%), Beta-minus, neutron emission, B-2N | -44,620 keV | 8,156 keV | 1.57 × 10-14 eV |
| Ru-122 | — | 25 ms | Beta-minus decay (100%), Beta-minus, neutron emission, B-2N | -41,780 keV | 8,132 keV | 1.82 × 10-14 eV |
| Ru-123 | — | 19 ms | Beta-minus decay (100%), Beta-minus, neutron emission, B-2N | -36,550 keV | 8,089 keV | 2.40 × 10-14 eV |
| Ru-124 | — | 15 ms | Beta-minus decay (100%), Beta-minus, neutron emission, B-2N | -33,590 keV | 8,065 keV | 3.04 × 10-14 eV |
| Ru-125 | — | — | Beta-minus decay (100%), B-2N, Beta-minus, neutron emission | -28,370 keV | 8,023 keV | — |