It used to be used in electronics for electrical contacts, but it is now mostly used in chip resistors. Ruthenium oxide is used to coat the anodes of electrochemical cells for chlorine production in the chemical industry. Ruthenium compounds can be used in solar cells to turn light energy to electrical energy due to their ability to absorb light throughout the visible spectrum. It is also one of the most efficient hardeners of platinum and palladium. It is alloyed with these metals to make electrical contacts for severe wear resistance and some jewelry. These alloys are also used to improve the corrosion resistance in titanium. It is a versatile catalyst used to remove H2S from oil refineries and other industrial processes, to produce ammonia from natural gas, and to produce acetic acid from methanol. Ruthenium has no known biological role, but ruthenium(IV) is very …show more content…
It is a hard metal that does not sully at room temperature, but oxidises at around 800 degrees Celsius. When potassium chlorate is added to it, ruthenium oxidises explosively. Ruthenium is also used in pen nibs and instrument pivots. In addition to the other elements it alloys with, ruthenium is used in alloys with cobalt, molybdenum, nickel, and tungsten. Ruthenium compounds are used to color glass and ceramics. The world produces about twelve tons of ruthenium a year. Ruthenium compounds should be considered very toxic and carcinogenic that will strongly stain the skin, but ingested ruthenium appears to be retained in bones. Ruthenium oxide (RuO4) is highly toxic and volatile and should be avoided. Ruthenium 106 is a radionuclides used in the atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons, which began in 1945 in the United States and ended in 1980 in China. It is one of the long-lived radionuclides that produced and will continue producing increased cancer risks for many more years. Ruthenium has not yet been proven to have a negative effect on plants and the environment.
Ruthenium is the only group eight element not to have two electrons in its outer shell. There are seven natural and stable isotopes of ruthenium, in addition to thirty-four radioisotopes. Furthermore, the most stable of its radioactive isotopes only has a half-life of 373 days, while most of the others