Ruthenium information, including Technical Data, Safety Data and its high purity properties, research, applications and other useful facts are discussed below. Scientific facts such as the atomic structure, ionization energy, abundance on Earth, conductivity and thermal properties are included.
 Ruthenium is member of the platinum group of metals. It is one of the most effective hardeners for platinum and palladium , and is alloyed with these metals to make electrical contacts for severe wear resistanant electronics and laboratory equipment. The corrosion resistance of titanium is improved a hundredfold by addition of 0.1% ruthenium. It is also a versatile catalyst. Hydrogen sulfide can be split catalytically by light using an aqueous suspension of cadmium sulfide particles loaded with ruthenium dioxide. It is also believed to have pharmacological applications. Ruthenium is available as metal and compounds with purities from 99% to 99.999% (ACS grade to ultra-high purity); metals in the form of foil, sputtering target, and rod, and compounds as submicron and nanopowder.
Ruthenium facts, including appearance, CAS #, and molecular formula and safety data, research and properties are available for many specific states, forms and shapes on the product pages listed to the left. Elemental or metallic forms include pellets, rod, wire and granules for evaporation source material purposes. Nanoparticles and nanopowders provide ultra high surface area which nanotechnology research and recent experiments demonstrate function to create new and unique properties and benefits.
 Oxides are available in forms including powders and dense pellets for such uses as optical coating and thin film applications. Oxides tend to be insoluble. Fluorides are another insoluble form for uses in which oxygen is undesirable such as metallurgy, chemical and physical vapor deposition and in some optical coatings. Ruthenium is available in soluble forms including chlorides, nitrates and acetates. These compounds are also manufactured as solutions at specified stoichiometries.
Ruthenium is a Block D, Group 8, Period 5 element. The number of electrons in each of Ruthenium's shells is 2, 8, 18, 15, 1 and its electronic configuration is [Kr] 4d7 5s1. In its elemental form ruthenium's CAS number is 7440-18-8. The ruthenium atom has a radius of 132.5.pm and it's Van der Waals radius is 200.pm. Ruthenium tetroxide (RuO4) is very toxic and Ruthenium in its elemental form is considered carcinogen.
All elemental metals, compounds and solutions may be synthesized in ultra high purity (e.g. 99.999%) for laboratory standards, advanced electronic, thin fillm deposition using sputtering targets  and evaporation materials, metallurgy and optical materials and other high technology applications. Information is provided for stable (non-radioactive) isotopes. Organo-Metallic Ruthenium compounds are soluble in organic or non-aqueous solvents. See Analytical Services for information on available certified chemical and physical analysis techniques including MS-ICP, X-Ray Diffraction, PSD and Surface Area (BET) analysis.
Ruthenium was first discovered by Karl Klaus in 1844. The name Ruthenium, originates from the Latin word 'Ruthenia' meaning Russia.
 ruthénium |
 Ruthenium |
 rutenio |
 Rutênio |
 rutenio |
 Rutenium |
Abundance. The following table shows the abundance of ruthenium and each of its naturally occurring isotopes on Earth along with the atomic mass for each isotope.
| Isotope |
Atomic Mass |
% Abundance on Earth |
| Ru-96 |
95.907598 |
5.52 |
| Ru-98 |
97.905287 |
1.88 |
| Ru-99 |
98.905939 |
12.7 |
| Ru-100 |
99.904220 |
12.6 |
| Ru-101 |
100.905582 |
17.0 |
| Ru-102 |
101.904350 |
31.6 |
| Ru-104 |
103.905430 |
18.7 |
The following table shows the abundance of Rubidium present in the human body and in the universe scaled to parts per billion (ppb) by weight and by atom:
| |
Typical Human Body |
Universe |
| by Weight |
no data |
4 ppb |
| by Atom |
no data |
0.05 ppb |
Safety Data and Biological Role. The safety data for ruthenium metal, nanoparticles and its compounds can vary widely depending on the form. For potential hazard information, toxicity, and road, sea and air transportation limitations, such as DOT Hazard Class, DOT Number, EU Number, NFPA Health rating and RTECS Class, please see the specific material or compound referenced in the left margin. Ruthenium compounds have no biological role.
Ionization Energy. The ionization energy for ruthenium (the least required energy to release a single electron from the atom in it's ground state in the gas phase) is stated in the following table:
| 1st Ionization Energy |
710.19 kJ mol-1 |
| 2nd Ionization Energy |
1617.11 kJ mol-1 |
| 3rd Ionization Energy |
2746.96 kJ mol-1 |
Conductivity. As to ruthenium's electrical and thermal conductivity, the electrical conductivity measured as to electrical resistivity @ 20 ºC is 7.6 μΩcm and its electronegativities (or its ability to draw electrons relative to other elements) is 2.2. The thermal conductivity of ruthenium is 117 W m-1 K-1.
Thermal Properties. The melting point and boiling point for ruthenium are stated below. The following chart sets forth the heat of fusion, heat of vaporization and heat of atomization.
| Heat of Fusion |
23.7 kJ mol-1 |
| Heat of Vaporization |
567 kJ mol-1 |
| Heat of Atomization |
641.031 kJ mol-1 |
Recent Research & Development for Ruthenium
- Ruthenium-catalyzed oxidation of a carbon-carbon triple bond: facile syntheses of alkenyl 1,2-diketones from alkynes.
Hu TC, Hsiao PI, Wang TH, Yang YW, Chang CY, Wu YH, Sun WC, Yu MS, Lee CY, Lo YH.
Dalton Trans. 2011 Oct 21. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID:
22015646
[PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
- Deactivation Pathways for Metal-to-Ligand Charge Transfer Excited States of Ru Polypyridyl Complexes with Triphenylphosphine as a Ligand.
Litke SV, Ershov AY, Meyer TJ.
J Phys Chem A. 2011 Oct 20. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID:
22013947
[PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
- Chirality on the Non-Intercalated Part Dictates the Stereoselectivity for Threading Intercalation of Short Binuclear Ruthenium Complexes.
Andersson J, Lincoln P.
J Phys Chem B. 2011 Oct 19. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID:
22010604
[PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
- Formation of Sequence-Independent Z-DNA Induced by a Ruthenium Complex at Low Salt Concentrations.
Wu Z, Tian T, Yu J, Weng X, Liu Y, Zhou X.
Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2011 Oct 18. doi: 10.1002/anie.201104422. [Epub ahead of print] No abstract available.
PMID:
22009837
[PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
- Stimulation of kainate toxicity by zinc in cultured cerebellar granule neurons and the role of mitochondria in this process.
Lozier ER, Stelmashook EV, Uzbekov RE, Novikova SV, Zorov SD, Alieva IB, Arbeille B, Zorov DB, Isaev NK.
Toxicol Lett. 2011 Oct 10. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID:
22008730
[PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
- HOCl causes necrotic cell death in human monocyte derived macrophages through calcium dependent calpain activation.
Yang YT, Whiteman M, Gieseg SP.
Biochim Biophys Acta. 2011 Oct 10. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID:
22008466
[PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
- Small molecule positive allosteric modulation of TRPV1 activation by vanilloids and acidic pH.
Kaszas K, Keller JM, Coddou CA, Mishra SK, Hoon MA, Stojilkovic S, Jacobson KA, Iadarola MJ.
J Pharmacol Exp Ther. 2011 Oct 17. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID:
22005042
[PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
- A New Class of Cyclometalated Ruthenium Sensitizers of the Type CN^N for Efficient Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells.
Kim JJ, Choi H, Paek S, Kim C, Lim K, Ju MJ, Kang HS, Kang MS, Ko J.
Inorg Chem. 2011 Oct 17. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID:
22004012
[PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
- Water Oxidation by Mononuclear Ruthenium Complexes with TPA-Based Ligands.
Radaram B, Ivie JA, Singh WM, Grudzien RM, Reibenspies JH, Webster CE, Zhao X.
Inorg Chem. 2011 Oct 14. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID:
21999861
[PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
- Electrocatalytic reduction of CO(2) to CO by polypyridyl ruthenium complexes.
Chen Z, Chen C, Weinberg DR, Kang P, Concepcion JJ, Harrison DP, Brookhart MS, Meyer TJ.
Chem Commun (Camb). 2011 Oct 14. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID:
21998823
[PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
- Role of thromboxane A2-activated nonselective cation channels in hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction of rat.
Yoo HY, Park SJ, Seo EY, Park KS, Han JA, Kim KS, Shin DH, Earm YE, Zhang YH, Kim SJ.
Am J Physiol Cell Physiol. 2011 Oct 12. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID:
21998141
[PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
- Effect of substituent of terpyridines on the DNA-interaction of polypyridyl ruthenium(II) complexes.
Patel MN, Gandhi DS, Parmar PA.
Spectrochim Acta A Mol Biomol Spectrosc. 2011 Sep 22. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID:
21996589
[PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
- Concise Formal Synthesis of (+)-Neopeltolide.
Yang Z, Zhang B, Zhao G, Yang J, Xie X, She X.
Org Lett. 2011 Oct 13. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID:
21995677
[PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
- (2)H NMR calculations on polynuclear transition metal complexes: on the influence of local symmetry and other factors.
Del Rosal I, Gutmann T, Walaszek B, Gerber IC, Chaudret B, Limbach HH, Buntkowsky G, Poteau R.
Phys Chem Chem Phys. 2011 Oct 12. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID:
21993614
[PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
- Polyhydroxyalkanoates production from cellulose hydrolysate in Escherichia coli LS5218 with superior resistance to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural.
Nduko JM, Suzuki W, Matsumoto K, Kobayashi H, Ooi T, Fukuoka A, Taguchi S.
J Biosci Bioeng. 2011 Oct 11. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID:
21993429
[PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
- Photocurrent-Enhancement by Surface Plasmon Resonance of Silver Nanoparticles in Highly Porous Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells.
Jeong NC, Prasittichai C, Hupp J.
Langmuir. 2011 Oct 12. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID:
21992773
[PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
- Synthesis of a-Amino Acid Amides: Ruthenium-Catalyzed Amination of a-Hydroxy Amides.
Zhang M, Imm S, Bähn S, Neumann H, Beller M.
Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2011 Oct 10. doi: 10.1002/anie.201104309. [Epub ahead of print] No abstract available.
PMID:
21987500
[PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
- Ruthenium nitrosyl complexes with 1,4,7-trithiacyclononane and 2,2'-bipyridine (bpy) or 2-phenylazopyridine (pap) coligands. Electronic structure and reactivity aspects.
De P, Maji S, Dutta Chowdhury A, Mobin SM, Kumar Mondal T, Paretzki A, Lahiri GK.
Dalton Trans. 2011 Oct 11. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID:
21986798
[PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
- Regulation of Sarcoplasmic Reticulum Ca2+ leak by Cytosolic Ca2+ in Rabbit Ventricular Myocytes.
Bovo E, Mazurek SR, Blatter LA, Zima AV.
J Physiol. 2011 Oct 10. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID:
21986204
[PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
- Polydentate Analogues of 8-Hydroxyquinoline and Their Complexes with Ruthenium.
El Ojaimi M, Thummel RP.
Inorg Chem. 2011 Oct 10. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID:
21985103
[PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
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