Its density is 12370 kg/m3 and its atomic mass is 101.07. It is one of the transition metals and of low abundance. It is normally found in platinum mines.
It is characterized by being a hardly manageable metal only at high temperatures, it is grayish-white and hard. It is used as a catalyst in certain platinum alloys, in oxidation, hydrogenation, reforming and isomerization reactions.
It is effective in hardening palladium and platinum. In alloys with other precious metals with high percentages, from 30 to 70%, it is used in applications that require resistance to extreme corrosion, water and electrical contacts.
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Simplified electron configuration of ruthenium
According to their Electron configuration, these are distributed as follows:
- 2 electrons orbiting 1s
- 2 electrons in 2s orbit
- 6 electrons in 2p orbit
- 2 electrons in 3s orbit
- 6 electrons in 3p orbit
- 10 electrons in 3d orbit
- 2 electrons in 4s orbit
- 6 electrons in 4p orbit
- 7 electrons in 4d orbit
- 1 electron in 5s orbit
- Its electrons per level are: 2, 8, 18, 15, 1.
Ruthenium isotopes
A total of seven isotopes of ruthenium can be found in nature. Of all, the most stable radioisotopes are 106Ru, which has a half-life of 373.59 days, 97Ru, which decays in 2.9 days, and 103Ru, which takes 39.26 days to decay. disintegrate. Its electron configuration is Kr 4d7 5s1.
Additionally, there are a total of fifteen radioisotopes with atomic weights ranging from 89.93 amu for 90Ru to 114.928 amu for 115Ru.
Most of them decay in less than five minutes, except for 95Ru, which takes 1.643 hours to decay, and 105, which has a decay time of 4.44 hours.
Health Effects of Ruthenium
Ruthenium compounds are rare and all should be considered highly toxic and carcinogenic. Among the consequences they can have on health is that they stain the skin, apparently because when this element is ingested, it is retained in the bones with great force. Contact with ruthenium oxide should be avoided at all costs as it is highly volatile and highly toxic.
In 1945 Ruthenium-106 was used as one of the radionuclides involved in atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons, it was first tested in the United States and eventually tested in China in 1980.
Ruthenium tetraoxide can explode, so it looks a lot like osmium tetraoxide. It is a long-lived radionuclide and these types of compounds will continue to carry an increased risk of cancers for centuries. Documentation of the negative environmental effects that ruthenium may cause has not been possible so far.
Obtaining and abundance of ruthenium
Ruthenium is found in a few minerals and these are non-commercial, such as laurite, platarsite and andouite. In addition, it is possible to find traces of it in pentlandite. It is normally found with other platinum group elements, with alloys, in America and the Urals.
Ruthenium compounds
Among the compounds of ruthenium there are different oxidation states, which can reach +8, however, the most common of this element are +2, +3 and +4. It is possible to use certain Ru+2 and Ru+3 complexes to treat cancer. The compound ruthenium tetraoxide (RuO4) is a strong oxidant and its decomposition is very violent at high temperature.
Among the elements related to ruthenium, either because of their close atomic number, or because they belong to the same group, or because of the period, are rhodium, iron, technetium and osmium.
