Book excerpt: The Chemistry of Ruthenium is concerned with the chemistry of ruthenium, with emphasis on synthesis and structure. The discussion spans a wide range of fields, from coordination chemistry and organometallic chemistry to structural chemistry (of both molecular and extended lattices), electrochemistry and photochemistry, as well as kinetics and spectroscopy. Comprised of 15 chapters, this book begins with an introduction to the discovery and early history of ruthenium, along with its extraction and purification, isotopes, physical and chemical properties, and applications. The discussion then turns to the concept of oxidation state and a scheme for systematizing descriptive inorganic chemistry together with its applicability to ruthenium chemistry. Subsequent chapters focus on the chemistry of ruthenium(VIII), ruthenium(VII), ruthenium(VI), ruthenium(V), ruthenium(IV), ruthenium(III), ruthenium(II), ruthenium(I), and ruthenium(0). The book also considers ruthenium carbonyl clusters and nitrosyls before concluding with a review of the photophysics and photochemistry of tris(diimine)ruthenium(II) complexes. This monograph will be useful to students, practitioners, and researchers in the field of inorganic chemistry, as well as those who are interested in the chemistry of ruthenium.