50x

Ruthenium 99.9%
This Ru powder was placed on both blackened and plain white plaster of Paris tablets. No sublimates formed at temperatures generated with propane torch.
Color of Ru powder that was subjected high heat is almost accurate, but should have a tint of yellow.

10x
Merged (alloyed) the Ru powder with approximately 1 gram of 99.5% Lead on a plaster tablet.
Color accurate, except for blue hues due to reflected light and shadows.
Purpose of this procedure is to discover anomalies unique to Ru in this type of situation.
The bluish color near bottom of image is tiny beads of Lead and sublimates (oxides) that the torch flame caused to fly off the lead as the Ru powder was merging with the Lead. There is a slight amount of red lead oxide (Pb3O4) glazing on button surface.

10x
The bottom (underside) of PbRu button illustrating some crystalline plating.
The adhering white-brown-orange grunge is the result of plaster mixing with lead oxide.
By keeping these, as well as all other similar/related images I can make comparisons with future tests and not have to rely upon my poor memory.

10x
This image is the top of 1st image of PbRu button residing within 2 drops water and 1 drop nitric acid on glass slide, which is slowly etching away debris (lead oxides and plaster), as well as digesting some of the surface Lead, thus exposing crystalline patterns of the Pb&Ru alloy. Tiny holes and black protrusions can now be seen where they were hidden previously. There are interesting blue tints, which I have no idea why they are present and is another reason for this surface etching to expose what I would not normally be able to detect. Plus, by cleaning this button alloy the subsequent testing procedures will be less likely to have contaminates.

50x
Same button as the above image.
The tiny holes and a few of the black protrusions are more pronounced.
The pink-red color is due to light reflections.
The curved surface makes it impossible to focus within a 2D format, whereas the eye peering thru the lens compensates and creates the 3D perception that this CCD camera is not capable of producing.

10x
Bottom of the PbRu bead in water/nitric acid bath digesting/etching away debris and exposing crystal structure and related anomalies.

10x
This image is of the same Ru+Pb button, but with the addition of about 20mg of pure Ag.
The purpose of adding (alloying) silver with this RuPb button is to be able to maybe collect the Ru within the silver during cupellation.
Prior to cupellation the above imaged button was subjected to a bath of 3 drops water and 1 nitric acid to dissolve away adhering plaster so that during cupellation the grunge (lead oxides and plaster) would not create an environment for the Ru to slag, but remain with the silver.
Color is close to accurate. Unfortunately, the above picture is a very unclear photomicrograph due to all the various contours which causes the inability to focus on the whole, so I am always forced to compromise these images.

10x
The surface cleaned Pb+Ru+Ag button was cupelled.
There is a tan colored ring and within this area is dense black circular spot that is the resultant AgRu prill from the cupellation procedure.
The black spot may look inverted instead of being a dome shape, which is one of the hazards of making images through the microscope. However, if this bead/prill should appear as a dark hole instead of a blackish colored spheroid read-on and come back to perhaps see the shape as it really is.

30x
Image of the odd appearing RuAg prill, which is not as likely to look inverted within the cavity where it rests and the cupel has become much cooler, which creates a change in colors of the cupel that has absorbed the Lead.
Date: 12-23-06
Color accurate
Because I thought Lead continued to contaminate the resultant AgRu prill I kept a lot of heat on the bead to finish the cupellation procedure, thereby driving off considerable silver.

50x
The above AgRu prill on a black background to show surface crystal structures.
This prill is very difficult to get great images of due to its black color and extremely small crystals protruding upon the entire surface.

90x
Although the AgRu prill is shiny blue-black to the eye and at low magnification, there is actually a wide host of colors, which are demonstrated with this magnified view.
I primarily tried to focus on a few (bottom left) of the silvery-white crystals to illustrate the unique crystal structure.

10x
Because I wanted to see different effects I decided to alloy the above prill with about 40 milligrams of silver, which is within the above cavity on a bone-ash cupel.
Color is accurate.
The brownish color is Ag being vaporized/oxidized (sublimate) on this white bone ash cupel.
Further away from flame there are various bands of colors ranging from this brown to orange-yellow (maybe tiny amounts of Bi and Pb not completely cupelled in the previous cupellation). And still further out are shades of lavender, pink-reds blue-green and more lavender. So, apparently the alloy can create sublimates that Ru by itself will not.
This image clearly illustrates that the vast majority of Ru did not want to merge with the Ag, for the Ru seems to have accumulated into one area as a protrusion.

17x
The cavity where the AgRu prill resided.
The dark area color is close to accurate, which is primarily gray with a greenish tint.
Within this cupel cavity there are 1000’s of tiny silvery beads of metal, which I presume is silver. I have witnessed this event many times and could never get my mind around the how comes or why this phenomena occurs? Perhaps my earlier encounters with this strange behavior is related to Ru?
Assuming ( a very dangerous act in assaying) that the blast of the torch flame did not create this oddity, maybe the Ru is somehow allowing silver to detach and actually become absorbed into cupel as the dark gray of cupel bottom indicates. Logically, my next step should be to extract a small amount of this gray stained cupel matrix and digest it in a water/nitric bath to determine if silver is present and that Ru is playing some kind of part of reducing the surface tension of the silver. Unfortunately, this test will have to wait till another time because I have so many priorities to accomplish now. Nevertheless,
I did go back and examine the original cupel where I began this alloying and sure enough the same anomaly existed. So, this clue may well serve anyone who tries to understand the constant mysterious what’s and why’s when assaying PGM alloys, which is exactly what assaying is all about.

38x
This magnified view of the cupel cavity shows these miniscule silvery spheres mentioned above.

40x
The magnified view of the above imaged prill within the cupel cavity.
The bulk of the silver prill appears to be normal silver without significant contamination, which strongly suggests that the Ru did not alloy.

50x
This magnified view attempts to show how the Ru (dark protruding areas) is coagulated into clumps all over parts of the silver prill.

70x
Higher magnification fails to better illustrate the appearance of the concentrated Ru.
I have long heard it said and have constantly read that Ru will not alloy with silver.
Based upon my personal, although limited excursions into this bizarre world of PGM alloys it does appear that Ru dislikes Ag other than accepting being wetted and thereby somewhat collected. Whether or not Ru will find ways to escape being collected by silver may well depend upon what other elements are in the original Pb matrix. Having said this, I constantly have to keep in mind that I am a student of this art and likely as not I could spend a lifetime learning the various effects Ru or any metal can behave like in any unlimited set of circumstances. Nonetheless, without prospecting there most likely won’t be any understanding.

Placed the RuAg prill on glass slide that has a well (depressed area) an added 1 drop HNO3 & 3 drops H2O. No chemical reaction, so heated the slide to initiate activity, which proceeded slowly.

40x
The vapors emitted from the heated solution caused no odor, except for a rather odd disagreeable scent sorta similar of vinegar.
The prill does not want to dissolve, which indicates to me that actual alloying of silver and ruthenium has occurred. Tiny blacks can bee seen embedded in silver and small black pieces are being sloughed off.

40x
Gas bubbles are moving the prill making it difficult to capture a clear focused image.
The surface of the prill does not have the look of pure silver indicating an actual alloy.

40x
The air bubbles are constantly moving the prill making it almost impossible to get a decent focused image.
The amount of black crystalline mass is slowly growing
Holes being ate into the prill apparently along the sides of and within grain boundaries.

40x
Crystalline surface pattern of prill surface that has a slight appearance of typical silver, but these crystal faces are too small and irregular to be totally silver.
As the silver is digested black crystals are emerging all over the prill, suggesting that the silver did indeed capture the ruthenium.
The prill is actually white, but shadows and the reflection of my hand on focus knob is causing the pinkish surface color.

40x
The prill is at the bottom left corner and I’m focusing on the mass of black Ru crystals accumulating near bottom of the prill. The white silvery metals are likely Ru&Ag that this acidic medium will not attack.