Ruthenium, a rare and enigmatic member of the platinum group metals, has emerged from relative obscurity to become an indispensable element in modern technology and medicine. Named after Ruthenia, the Latin name for Russia, this silvery-white metal was the last of the platinum group metals to be discovered, yet it has proven to be among the most versatile. From its contentious discovery in the 1840s to its current applications in electronics, catalysis, and cancer research, ruthenium’s journey reflects the evolution of chemistry itself. Its unique properties—including exceptional hardness, resistance to corrosion, and remarkable catalytic activity—have made it a critical component in technologies ranging from computer hard drives to potential cancer treatments. This history traces ruthenium’s transformation from a chemical curiosity to a strategic material essential for the 21st century.

Read about the six platinum group metals – Iridium, Osmium, Palladium, Platinum, Rhodium, and Ruthenium – as a group (PGMs) here. Find out about the other critical raw materials (CRMs) here. The complete history of platinum can be found here. Find the complete history of all platinum group metals here.

A History Of Ruthenium

The story of ruthenium spans nearly two centuries, beginning with disputed claims of discovery and evolving into widespread industrial applications. This chronology documents the key milestones in ruthenium’s history, from its initial isolation in Russian platinum ores to its modern roles in data storage, catalysis, and medicine. The element’s journey reflects broader developments in chemistry, metallurgy, and technology, demonstrating how a once-obscure metal became essential to contemporary life.

Chronology

• 1827 – Jöns Berzelius and Gottfried Osann examined residues from dissolving crude platinum from the Ural Mountains in aqua regia. Osann believed he found three new metals, naming one “ruthenium,” though he could not repeat his isolation of ruthenium [1, 2]
• 1844 – Karl Ernst Claus at Kazan State University successfully isolated ruthenium from platinum residues, obtaining 6 grams of the pure metal from crude platinum insoluble in aqua regia. He named it ruthenium after Ruthenia, stating “I named the new body, in honour of my Motherland, ruthenium.” Klaus determined ruthenium’s atomic weight and chemical properties, noting similarities with rhodium, palladium, and platinum. For discovering ruthenium, he was awarded the Demidov Prize of 5,000 rubles. Klaus sent ruthenium samples to Jöns Jakob Berzelius for analysis, gaining international recognition, and published his comprehensive work “Chemical investigation of the residues of Ural platinum ore and the metal ruthenium” [2, 3, 4, 5]
• 1845 – Berzelius confirmed Klaus’s discovery of ruthenium in his annual report on the progress of chemistry [4]
• 1930 – J. McLennan and colleagues discovered ruthenium becomes superconducting at 2.04 K [6]
• 1951 – B. Goodman observed superconductivity in ruthenium with a transition temperature of 0.47 K [7]
• 1953 – Carl Djerassi and Robert R. Engle introduced ruthenium tetroxide as an organic oxidant, using it to oxidize phenanthrene and sulfides [8, 9]
• 1957 – B. H. R. Stack and colleagues studied the superconducting properties of ruthenium, including the effects of specimen preparation on ruthenium [10]
• 1958 – L.M. Berkowitz and P.N. Rylander expanded the use of ruthenium tetroxide as a multipurpose oxidant, including the conversion of tetrahydrofuran to γ-butyrolactone [9, 11]
• 1959 – The first synthesis of Sr2RuO4 (strontium ruthenate) was reported [12]
• 1968 – Ryoji Noyori developed methods for asymmetric hydrogenation using ruthenium catalysts, work that would later earn him the Nobel Prize [13, 14]
• 1973-1974 – The oil crisis and rhodium shortage led to increased interest in ruthenium as an alternative catalyst for automotive applications [15, 16]
• 1976 – The three-way catalytic converter using platinum group metals including ruthenium was introduced by Volvo [17, 18]
• 1977 – Thomas A. Foglia and colleagues published work on ruthenium tetroxide oxidation of unsaturated fatty acids [19]
• 1980 – Ryoji Noyori and co-workers published the synthesis of the BINAP ligand for ruthenium catalysts, enabling near-100% enantiomeric excess in amino acid synthesis [20]
• 1981 – K. Barry Sharpless and colleagues introduced improved “Sharpless conditions” for ruthenium tetroxide catalyzed oxidations using CCl4/CH3CN/H2O solvent system [9]
• 1986 – Noyori developed BINAP-Ru(II) dicarboxylate complexes for asymmetric hydrogenation of olefins using ruthenium [21]
• 1987-1988 – Noyori developed versatile asymmetric hydrogenation of functionalized ketones with BINAP-Ru(II) dihalide complexes using ruthenium [21]
• 1992 – Robert Grubbs published discovery of a ruthenium-based metathesis catalyst that was stable in air and worked selectively on double carbon bonds [22, 23]
• 1994 – Yoshiteru Maeno and collaborators discovered superconductivity in Sr2RuO4 (strontium ruthenate) at 1.5 K, the first non-copper perovskite superconductor containing ruthenium [24, 25]
• 1998 – Mike Giardello and Robert Grubbs co-founded Materia Inc. to commercialize ruthenium metathesis catalysts [22, 26]
• 1999 – NAMI-A became the first ruthenium anticancer compound to enter Phase I clinical trials [27]
• 2001 – Ryoji Noyori shared the Nobel Prize in Chemistry with William S. Knowles for work on chirally catalyzed hydrogenation reactions using ruthenium complexes. IBM also introduced “Pixie Dust” technology using a 3-atom thick ruthenium layer in hard drives to increase storage density [28, 13, 29]
• 2005 – Robert Grubbs shared the Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Richard R. Schrock and Yves Chauvin for development of the metathesis method using ruthenium catalysts. Toshiba also produced the first commercial hard drive using perpendicular magnetic recording with ruthenium layers [22, 30, 31]
• 2006 – Major hard drive manufacturers including Seagate, Hitachi, and Fujitsu adopted perpendicular recording technology using ruthenium layers, with over 70% of drives using this technology [31, 32]
• 2008 – KP1019 (a ruthenium anticancer compound) entered clinical trials for treatment of platinum-resistant cancers [33]
• 2010 – Ruthenium catalysts enabled commercial production of over 3000 tonnes of menthol annually using Noyori’s asymmetric isomerization method with ruthenium [13]
• 2016 – Global ruthenium consumption reached 30.9 tonnes, with 13.8 tonnes used in electrical applications and 7.7 tonnes in catalysis [2, 34]
• 2017 – An undeclared release of ruthenium-106 was detected across Europe in September-October, with atmospheric modeling suggesting origin in the Southern Urals region, possibly from the Mayak nuclear complex [35, 36]
• 2020 – Researchers confirmed the civilian nuclear origin of the 2017 ruthenium-106 release through isotopic fingerprinting, linking it to spent nuclear fuel reprocessing. Ruthenium dioxide was also found to be superconductive when epitaxial strain is applied in thin films on TiO2 substrates [37, 36, 38]
• 2021 – Robert Grubbs died at age 79, having revolutionized metathesis chemistry with ruthenium catalysts [22]
• 2023 – Researchers confirmed the 67-year-old prediction of Pines’ demon excitation in Sr2RuO4 (strontium ruthenate) [24]
• 2024 – Studies showed ruthenium catalysts continuing to play crucial roles in sustainable chemistry and carbon cycle management [39, 40]

Final Thoughts

Ruthenium’s history exemplifies how scientific discovery often proceeds through controversy, serendipity, and persistent investigation. From Osann’s premature claims to Klaus’s definitive isolation, from Djerassi’s introduction of ruthenium tetroxide to the Nobel Prize-winning work of Noyori and Grubbs, each advance built upon previous knowledge while opening new frontiers. Today, ruthenium stands at the intersection of multiple critical technologies—enabling the data storage that underpins our digital age, catalyzing reactions essential for pharmaceutical production, and offering hope for new cancer treatments.

The 2017 atmospheric release incident serves as a reminder of both the element’s strategic importance and the responsibilities that come with handling such materials. As we face challenges of sustainability and advancing technology, ruthenium’s unique properties ensure it will continue to play vital roles in innovations we cannot yet imagine. Its story is far from complete, with each new application adding another chapter to the remarkable history of Russia’s namesake element.

Thanks for reading!

References

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[7] Two New Superconducting Elements | Nature – https://www.nature.com/articles/167111a0

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[12] Unconventional superconductivity in Sr2RuO4 – ScienceDirect – https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0921453415000660

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[23] The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2005 – Popular information – NobelPrize.org – https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/chemistry/2005/popular-information/

[24] Distrontium ruthenate – Wikipedia – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distrontium_ruthenate

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[26] Robert H. Grubbs – Biographical – NobelPrize.org – https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/chemistry/2005/grubbs/biographical/

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[35] Airborne concentrations and chemical considerations of radioactive ruthenium from an undeclared major nuclear release in 2017 | PNAS – https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1907571116

[36] Identification of a chemical fingerprint linking the undeclared 2017 release of 106Ru to advanced nuclear fuel reprocessing | PNAS – https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2001914117

[37] Strain-stabilized superconductivity | Nature Communications – https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-20252-7

[38] Non-natural ruthenium isotope ratios of the undeclared 2017 atmospheric release consistent with civilian nuclear activities | Nature Communications – https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-16316-3

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[40] An air- and moisture-stable ruthenium precatalyst for diverse reactivity | Nature Chemistry – https://www.nature.com/articles/s41557-024-01481-5