Ru doped Li 2 MnO 3 compositions show the presence of redox couples Mn +3-Mn +4 and Ru +4-Ru +5. Due to the presence of these redox couples in Li 2 Mn 1−x Ru x O 3 (x = 0.05, 0.1), Ru doped compositions show (i) change in structure (ii) large decrease in impedance(~ 10 7 to ~ 10 5 Ohm) (iii) degrade methyl orange and methylene blue solution (pH-6) in quick time in presence of tungsten (W) bulb and sun light. Synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction studies show the change in lattice parameters with Ru doping at Mn site in Li 2 Mn 1−x Ru x O 3 (x = 0.05, 0.1). Raman and Infrared spectroscopic studies show the shift in Mn-O stretching mode of Li 2 MnO 3 towards lower wave number with Ru doping. Soft X-ray absorption spectroscopic studies show the presence of mixed valences of Mn +3 , Mn +4 , Ru +4 and Ru +5 in Li 2 Mn 1−x Ru x O 3 (x = 0.05, 0.1) using L 2,3 and M 4 edge. UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopic studies show the optical band gap in visible light range in Ru doped Li 2 Mn 1−x Ru x O 3 (x = 0.05, 0.1) compositions. The presence of 5 mg of Li 2 Mn 0.9 Ru 0.1 O 3 degrades 5 ml of methyl orange solution (10 mg/L) of pH 6 in 5 min and methylene blue solution (10 mg/L) of pH 6 in 3 min of exposure in W bulb light.