Ruthenium

Ruthenium is a white colored hard metal which belongs to the platinum group. Ruthenium is mostly used as an alloy for producing gold jewelry and for making electrical contacts which are severely wear resistant. Ruthenium was discovered in 1844 by a Russian scientist called Karl Klaus. The name of this new metal was kept ruthenium which is derived from the word “Ruthenia” meaning Rus which is the Latin for the historical area which includes Ukraine, Belarus, parts of Russia, Baltics etc. This metal is mostly found in the ores of Ural Mountains in North and South America. It is also available in some of the nickel mining regions. The metal has to be isolated through a complex chemical process.

Chemical properties of ruthenium

Ruthenium is widely used in a number of chemical experiments. It is very effective in hardening platinum and palladium. It is used in the production of turbine blades in jet engines. The famous Parker pen nibs are made of ruthenium. This versatile catalyst is used in removing hydrogen sulfide from the oil refineries. In the laboratories engaged in researches on solar energy, ruthenium complexes are used as they can absorb light through out the visible spectrum. The most important usage of ruthenium recently discovered is its anti-cancer property. It is more effective on certain tumors than the complexes of platinum.

Ruthenium is an expensive metal - its cost is approximately 30$ per gram. It is a very toxic metal and can affect human skin very strongly. But any negative environmental effect is not reported yet.