Extraction and direct spectrophotometric determination of ruthenium with ethyl-α-isonitrosoacetoacetate

Ruthenium is extracted by benzyl alcohol from 5 M LiCl containing ethyl-α-isonitrosoacetoacetate at pH 4–6. The extraction is quantitative if the solution is heated to boiling for 15 min. The benzyl alcohol extract shows maximum absorbance at 470 nm and at this wavelength Beer's law is obeyed over the ruthenium concentration range 0.1–1.8 μg ml . The error is 4% for 0.5 μg ml .