Ruthenium(III) chloride

• Ruthenium trichloride
• Ruthenium ( ambiguous )

Dark brown or black solid with a pungent odor

Fixed

3.11 g · cm -3 ( 20 ° C)

> 500 ° C

• Insoluble in water
• Soluble in acids, alcohol and acetone

Risk

360 mg · kg -1 ( LD50, rat, i.p. anhydrate )

Template: Infobox chemical / molecular formula search available

Ruthenium ( III) chloride is a chemical compound of ruthenium, from the group of chlorides, and are generally present as a hydrate.

Production and representation

Ruthenium ( III) chloride can be obtained by reacting ruthenium chloride and carbon dioxide.

Properties

Ruthenium ( III) chloride is present in two different crystal structures. The black diamagnetic α - form is in a chrome front (III ) chloride structure with Ru -Ru bonds of length 346 pm. The dark brown and metastable β - form crystallized in a hexagonal chain structure corresponding to the zirconium ( III ) iodide structure. It converts at 450-600 ° C irreversibly to α -shape around.

The hydrate is present as blue-black, high-gloss hygroscopic flakes. Its aqueous solution has a red color.

Use

When the ruthenium compound is most commonly used, ruthenium (III ) chloride used in the preparation of other ruthenium compounds.

Ruthenium (III ) chloride acts as a catalyst for ring-opening metathesis in highly strained cycloalkenes such as norbornene. In non- cyclic systems, it does not act, however, as a metathesis catalyst, in this case more complicated systems, such as Grubbs' catalysts have to be used.