The sorption mechanism of Ru3+ ions on hydroxy (HAp), carbonate (CO(3)HAp), and fluor apatites (FAp) has been studied in detail. Ru apatites were obtained by reaction of the apatites with RuCl3 in aqueous solution. The structure and composition of the ruthenium-modified apatites were studied by several techniques: elemental analysis, XRD, EXAFS, IR, NMR, SEM-EDS, TEM, and thermal analysis. The amount of Ru in the modified apatite varies from 7.8 to 10.5 wt% and is not related to the initial composition or the specific surface area of the apatite. The different characterization techniques show that in the Ru-modified apatites Ru is surrounded by six oxygen atoms and do not contain any chlorine. For Ru-HAp and Ru-CO(3)HAp the new phase is amorphous whereas it is crystalline for FAp. The catalytic oxidation ability is higher for Ru-HAp and Ru-CO(3)HAp compared to Ru-FAp apatite in the oxidation of benzylic alcohol. (c) 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.