Ruthenium
Ruthenium General
| Name:Ruthenium | Symbol:Ru |
| Type:Transition Metal | Atomic weight:101.07 |
| Density @ 293 K:12.2 g/cm3 | Atomic volume:8.3 cm3/mol |
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Discovered:
Ruthenium was discovered in 1827 in an impure form by Gottfried W. Osann in residues of crude platinum ores. Karl Klauss isolated the metal in 1844 from the impure oxide. The element's name comes from the Latin word 'Ruthenia', meaning Russia after Osann's homeland. |
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Ruthenium States
| State (s, l, g):solid | |
| Melting point:2603 K (2330 °C) | Boiling point:4423 K (4150 °C) |
Ruthenium Energies
| Specific heat capacity:0.238 J g-1 K-1 | Heat of atomization:652 kJ mol-1 |
| Heat of fusion:24.0 kJ mol-1 | Heat of vaporization : 595.0 kJ mol-1 |
| 1st ionization energy:711.1 kJ mol-1 | 2nd ionization energy:1617.1 kJ mol-1 |
| 3rd ionization energy: 2746.9 kJ mol-1 | Electron affinity:101 kJ mol-1 |
Ruthenium Oxidation & Electrons
| Shells: 2,8,18,15,1 | Electron configuration:[Kr] 4d7 5s1 |
| Minimum oxidation number:-2 | Maximum oxidation number:8 |
| Min. common oxidation no.:0 | Max. common oxidation no.:4 |
| Electronegativity (Pauling Scale):2.2 | Polarizability volume:9.6 Å3 |
Ruthenium Appearance & Characteristics
| Structure:hcp: hexagonal close pkd | Color:silvery-white |
| Hardness: 6.5 mohs | |
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Harmful effects:
Ruthenium is a suspected carcinogen and its compounds strongly stain the skin. Ruthenium tetroxide (RuO4) is highly toxic. |
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Characteristics:
Ruthenium is a very rare, hard, lustrous, brittle, silvery-white metal that does not tarnish at room temperature. The metal is unaffected by air, water and acids. It reacts with molten alkali and halogens and can oxidize explosively. Uses: Small amounts of ruthenium are used to harden platinum and palladium and it can also be alloyed with these metals to make electrical contacts for severe wear resistance. The addition of 0.1% ruthenium improves the corrosion resistance of titanium a hundred times over. Ruthenium has catalytic properties; for example, hydrogen sulfide can be split by light in the presence of an aqueous suspension of cadmium sulfide particles loaded with ruthenium dioxide. |
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Ruthenium Reactions
| Reaction with air: w/ht, ⇒ RuO4 | Reaction with 6 M HCl:none |
| Reaction with 15 M HNO3:none | Reaction with 6 M NaOH: |
Ruthenium Compounds
| Oxide(s):RuO2, RuO4 | Chloride(s):RuCl2, RuCl3 |
| Hydride(s):none |
Ruthenium Radius
| Atomic radius:134 pm | Ionic radius (1+ ion):pm |
| Ionic radius (2+ ion):pm | Ionic radius (3+ ion):82 pm |
| Ionic radius (2- ion):pm | Ionic radius (1- ion):pm |
Ruthenium Conductivity
| Thermal conductivity:117 W m-1 K-1 | Electrical conductivity: 14.9 x 106 S m-1 |
Ruthenium Abundance & Isotopes
| Abundance earth's crust:1 part per billion by weight, 0.2 parts per billion by moles | |
| Abundance solar system:5 parts per billion by weight, 0.06 part per billion by moles | |
| Cost, pure:$1400 per 100g | |
| Cost, bulk:$650 per 100g | |
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Source:
Ruthenium is found free in nature often with the other platinum group metals. Commercially, it is obtained from pentlandite (a sulfide of iron and nickel) which contains small quantities of ruthenium. Ruthenium can also be extracted from spent nuclear fuel, however if obtained this way it will contain radioactive isotopes. It has to be stored safely for at least ten years until the radioactive isotopes hav |
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Isotopes:
Ruthenium has 26 isotopes whose half-lives are known, with mass numbers from 90 to 115. Of these 7 are stable: 96Ru, 98Ru, 99Ru, 100Ru, 101Ru, 102Ru, and104Ru. Naturally, the most common isotope is 102Ru with an abundance of 31.6%. |
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Ruthenium Other
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Other:
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