Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory synthesized a chemical complex of radioactive promethium, shedding light on its chemical properties and behavior in solutions with water.
The study of promethium fills a gap in chemistry textbooks and may lead to improved methods for separating promethium from similar elements in nuclear waste, according to Polly Arnold, a chemist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
Promethium, the rarest member of the lanthanide family, has less than 1 kilogram naturally existing in Earth's crust and has been utilized in technologies like pacemakers and spacecraft due to its radiation properties.
The lanthanides, including promethium, are rare-earth elements prized for technological applications, despite their abundance in Earth's crust, presenting challenges in isolation due to their similar chemistry.
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