Ruthenium(III) iodide is a

chemical compound A chemical compound is a chemical substance composed of many identical molecules (or molecular entities) containing atoms from more than one chemical element held together by chemical bonds. A molecule consisting of atoms of only one element ...

containing ruthenium and

iodine Iodine is a chemical element with the symbol I and atomic number 53. The heaviest of the stable halogens, it exists as a semi-lustrous, non-metallic solid at standard conditions that melts to form a deep violet liquid at , and boils to a vi ...

with the formula . It is a black solid.

Preparation

Ruthenium(III) iodide can be prepared in several ways. The reaction of

ruthenium tetroxide Ruthenium tetroxide is the inorganic compound with the formula RuO4. It is a yellow volatile solid that melts near room temperature. It has the odor of ozone. Samples are typically black due to impurities. The analogous OsO4 is more widely used ...

with aqueous hydroiodic acid: : The thermal decomposition of pentaammineruthenium(III) iodide: : The salt metathesis reaction of hydrated

ruthenium(III) chloride Ruthenium(III) chloride is the chemical compound with the formula RuCl3. "Ruthenium(III) chloride" more commonly refers to the hydrate RuCl3·''x''H2O. Both the anhydrous and hydrated species are dark brown or black solids. The hydrate, with a va ...

with potassium iodide in aqueous solution: : Direct combination of the elements has been reported to succeed under some conditions (350 °C) but not others (500 °C and 20 atm): :

Structure

Ruthenium(III) iodide adopts an extended structure with octahedral coordination geometry at ruthenium. There is some doubt about the characterisation of ruthenium(III) iodide and it may be an

oxohalide In chemistry, molecular oxohalides (oxyhalides) are a group of chemical compounds in which both oxygen and halogen atoms are attached to another chemical element A in a single molecule. They have the general formula , where X = fluorine (F), ch ...

or a hydroxyhalide.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ruthenium(Iii) Iodide Ruthenium(III) compounds Iodides Platinum group halides