Ruthenium
Ruthenium is a hard transition metal in the platinum group, resistant to many forms of corrosion.
Ruthenium quietly improves electrical components and catalysis.
Explore Ruthenium's atom- Atomic number
- 44
- Standard atomic weight
- 101.07(2)
- Family
- Transition metal
- Period
- 5
- Group
- 8
- Standard state
- Solid
In everyday life
Ruthenium is used in some chip resistors and electrical contacts.
Something to remember
Its name refers to Ruthenia, a historical Latin name associated with Russia.
Meet its electrons
[Kr] 5s1 4d7
Published neutral-atom ground-state configuration; excited atoms and ions can differ.
Electrons per shell: 2 · 8 · 18 · 15 · 1.
The playground shows an illustrative shell model. Real electrons are described by quantum orbitals, rather than tiny planets traveling along fixed paths.
A connection to explore
Ruthenium and platinum belong to the platinum-group metals used in catalysis and specialised materials.
Meet Platinum (Pt)Properties and conditions
- Standard atomic weight
- 101.07(2)CIAAW 2024 standard atomic weight (dimensionless). Parentheses give uncertainty in the last quoted digits. Source flags: g.CIAAW standard atomic weights ↗ · Retrieved 2026-10-15
- Standard state
- SolidPubChem classification, including explicit predictions where stated. Reference temperature and pressure are not supplied in the table.PubChem periodic table ↗ · Retrieved 2026-10-15
- First ionisation energy
- 7.361 eVEnergy to remove the first electron from an isolated neutral gas-phase atom. Uncertainty is not supplied.PubChem periodic table ↗ · Retrieved 2026-10-15
- Electronegativity
- 2.2 Pauling scaleA dimensionless relative measure; values depend on the chosen scale. Uncertainty is not supplied.PubChem periodic table ↗ · Retrieved 2026-10-15
- Melting point
- 2607 KPubChem reported value. Pressure, allotrope and measurement uncertainty are not specified in the table; consult the cited source.PubChem periodic table ↗ · Retrieved 2026-10-15
- Boiling point
- 4423 KPubChem reported value. Pressure and measurement uncertainty are not specified in the table; consult the cited source.PubChem periodic table ↗ · Retrieved 2026-10-15
- Density
- 12.1 g/cm³PubChem reported value. Temperature, pressure, allotrope and measurement uncertainty are not specified in the table; gas densities are especially condition-dependent.PubChem periodic table ↗ · Retrieved 2026-10-15
- Oxidation states
- +3Selected PubChem oxidation states; formal electron bookkeeping, not a list of stable free-ion charges or every possible compound.PubChem periodic table ↗ · Retrieved 2026-10-15
- Discovery
- 1827PubChem discovery attribution. Ancient knowledge and competing priority claims cannot always be represented by a single year.PubChem periodic table ↗ · Retrieved 2026-10-15
- Atomic radius
- 207 pmPubChem tabulated radius. Radius definitions depend on bonding and convention; measurement definition and uncertainty are not supplied in this table.PubChem periodic table ↗ · Retrieved 2026-10-15
- Electron affinity
- 1.05 eVPubChem reported gas-phase electron affinity. Sign conventions and electronic states matter; uncertainty is not supplied in this table.PubChem periodic table ↗ · Retrieved 2026-10-15
Isotopes, abundance and decay
Isotopes share a proton count but have different neutron counts. This selection includes naturally tabulated compositions and a reference isotope for other elements. It is not a list of every known isotope.
Explore 7 isotopes of Ru
| Isotope | Relative atomic mass | Natural fraction | Half-life | Decay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ru-96 | 95.90759025(49) | 0.0554(14) | No decay observed | ;2β+ ? |
| Ru-98 | 97.9052868(69) | 0.0187(3) | No decay observed | No decay tabulated |
| Ru-99 | 98.9059341(11) | 0.1276(14) | No decay observed | No decay tabulated |
| Ru-100 | 99.9042143(11) | 0.1260(7) | No decay observed | No decay tabulated |
| Ru-101 | 100.9055769(12) | 0.1706(2) | No decay observed | No decay tabulated |
| Ru-102 | 101.9043441(12) | 0.3155(14) | No decay observed | No decay tabulated |
| Ru-104 | 103.9054275(28) | 0.1862(27) | No decay observed | ;2β− ? |
Fractions use NIST’s terrestrial isotopic compositions, which can vary by sample. Parentheses denote uncertainty in the last digits. Half-lives and decay branches use NUBASE2020; # marks estimates, >/< mark limits. “No decay observed” follows that evaluation and does not prove permanent stability. Decay branch intensities are percentages; SF means spontaneous fission, EC electron capture, IT an isomeric transition.
Follow the science
Use these original references to explore the data and context. Atomic weights can vary with isotope composition; values for elements without stable isotopes may describe a representative isotope rather than a standard atomic weight.