Ruthenium facts for kids

Ruthenium is a special kind of chemical element! Think of elements as the basic building blocks of everything around us. Ruthenium has the symbol Ru and its atomic number is 44. This number tells us how many tiny particles called protons are in its center. It's a shiny, silver-white metal that is quite rare to find.

What is Ruthenium?

Ruthenium belongs to a family of metals called transition metals. These metals are known for being strong and good at conducting electricity. It's also part of an even more special group called the platinum group metals. This group includes other valuable metals like platinum and palladium.

Where is Ruthenium Found?

You won't find pure ruthenium just lying around! It's usually found mixed in with platinum ores. Ores are rocks that contain valuable metals. Scientists have to work hard to separate ruthenium from these ores.

How is Ruthenium Used?

Even though it's rare, ruthenium is very useful! One of its main jobs is being a catalyst. A catalyst is like a helper that speeds up chemical reactions without being used up itself. Ruthenium is often added to some alloys that contain platinum. An alloy is a mixture of two or more metals. These special alloys can be used in many different ways, like in electronics or in certain chemical processes.

Images for kids

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  Gas phase grown crystals of ruthenium metal.

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  Tris(bipyridine)ruthenium(II) chloride.

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  Halloysite nanotubes intercalated with ruthenium catalytic nanoparticles.

See also

In Spanish: Rutenio para niños