Americium elements

Americium (element 95) is prepared by Seaborg, R. A. James, L. O. Morgan, and A. Chiorso curium (element 90) by Seaborg, James, and A. Ghiorso. 

The known oxidation states of the actinides are given in Table 20-3. With the exception of Th and Pa, the common oxidation state, and for trans-americium elements the dominant oxidation state, is +3, and the behavior is similar to the +3 lanthanides. Thorium and the other elements in the +4 state show resemblances to HfIv or Ceiv, whereas Pa and the elements in the +5 state show some resemblances to Tav. Exceptions to the latter statement are the dioxo ions MOJ for U, Np, Pu, and Am that are related to the M02+ ions in the +6 state. Redox potentials are given in Table 20-4. 

Ion-exchange procedures. Although ion-exchange procedures, both cationic and anionic, can be used to separate the actinide ions, they are best suited for small amounts of material. Since they have found most use in the separation of the trans-americium elements, these procedures are discussed below. 

The remaining elements, from Cf onward, have only the +3 state. The great similarity between the +3 ions of Am and the trans-americium elements has meant that the more conventional chemical operations successful for the separation of the previous actinide elements are inadequate and most of the separations require the highly selective procedures of ion-exchange discussed below solvent-extraction of the M3+ ions from 10-16M nitric acid by tributyl phosphate also gives reasonable separations. 

Americium, element 95, was discovered in 1944-45 by Seaborg et al. [1] at the Metallurgical Laboratory of the University of Chicago. The reaction used was ... 

Curium, element 96, is the element of highest atomic number that is available on the multigram scale. Even so, microchemical handling techniques are usually used [7,8]. The element, unknown in nature, is named after Pierre and Marie Curie, by analogy with its lanthanide congener, gadolinium (named after the Finnish chemist, J. Gadolin). The discovery of curium preceded that of americium (element 95). 

In the actinides, the element curium, Cm, is probably the one which has its inner sub-shell half-filled and in the great majority of its compounds curium is tripositive, whereas the preceding elements up to americium, exhibit many oxidation states, for example -1-2, -1-3. -1-4, -1-5 and + 6, and berkelium, after curium, exhibits states of -1- 3 and -E 4. Here then is another resemblance of the two series. 

The many possible oxidation states of the actinides up to americium make the chemistry of their compounds rather extensive and complicated. Taking plutonium as an example, it exhibits oxidation states of -E 3, -E 4, +5 and -E 6, four being the most stable oxidation state. These states are all known in solution, for example Pu" as Pu ", and Pu as PuOj. PuOl" is analogous to UO , which is the stable uranium ion in solution. Each oxidation state is characterised by a different colour, for example PuOj is pink, but change of oxidation state and disproportionation can occur very readily between the various states. The chemistry in solution is also complicated by the ease of complex formation. However, plutonium can also form compounds such as oxides, carbides, nitrides and anhydrous halides which do not involve reactions in solution. Hence for example, it forms a violet fluoride, PuFj. and a brown fluoride. Pup4 a monoxide, PuO (probably an interstitial compound), and a stable dioxide, PUO2. The dioxide was the first compound of an artificial element to be separated in a weighable amount and the first to be identified by X-ray diffraction methods. 

Each of the elements has a number of isotopes (2,4), all radioactive and some of which can be obtained in isotopicaHy pure form. More than 200 in number and mosdy synthetic in origin, they are produced by neutron or charged-particle induced transmutations (2,4). The known radioactive isotopes are distributed among the 15 elements approximately as follows actinium and thorium, 25 each protactinium, 20 uranium, neptunium, plutonium, americium, curium, californium, einsteinium, and fermium, 15 each herkelium, mendelevium, nobehum, and lawrencium, 10 each. There is frequently a need for values to be assigned for the atomic weights of the actinide elements. Any precise experimental work would require a value for the isotope or isotopic mixture being used, but where there is a purely formal demand for atomic weights, mass numbers that are chosen on the basis of half-life and availabiUty have customarily been used. A Hst of these is provided in Table 1. 

Figure 1 shows a simplified flow sheet for plutonium-239 recovery operations at Rocky Flats. Impure plutonium metal is sent through a pyrochemical process, called molten salt extraction (MSE), to remove the elemental impurity americium. The product plutonium metal, if it meets plant purity requirements, is sent to the foundry. Metal that does not meet foundry requirements is processed further, either through an aqueous process using ion exchange, or through a pyrochemical electrorefining process. The waste chloride salt from MSE is... 

Figure 10 shows in graphic form the utility of molten salt extractions for americium removal in one, two, and three stage extractions for various salt-to-metal extraction feeds. This graph demonstrates the impressive power of molten salt extraction systems for purification of plutonium from americium and related rare earth elements. 

Elements 43 (technetium), 61 (promethium), 85 (astatine), and all elements with Z > 92 do not exist naturally on the Earth, because no isotopes of these elements are stable. After the discovery of nuclear reactions early in the twentieth century, scientists set out to make these missing elements. Between 1937 and 1945, the gaps were filled and three actinides, neptunium (Z = 93), plutonium (Z = 94), and americium (Z = 95) also were made. 

Americium (pronounced,, am-8- ris(h)-e-8m) is a man-made, radioactive, actinide element with an atomic number of 95. It was discovered in 1945. Actinides are the 15 elements, all of whose isotopes are radioactive starting with actinium (atomic number 89), and extending to lawrencium (atomic number 103). When not combined with other elements, americium is a silvery metal. Americium has no naturally occurring or stable isotopes. There are two important isotopes of... 

Quantities of americium, as well as other radioactive elements, are measured in units of mass (grams) or radioactivity (curies or becquerels). The becquerel (Bq) is a new international unit and... 

As a manufactured element, americium is not naturally present in rocks and soils. Contamination of the soil can occur either from deposition of americium or precursor plutonium originally discharged into the atmosphere, or from waste products discharged directly into or on the ground. Except for the reentry into... 

Denmark 1.5 days after the explosion. Air samples collected at Roskilde, Denmark on April 27-28, contained a mean air concentration of 241Am of 5.2 pBq/m3 (0.14 fCi/m3). In May 1986, the mean concentration was 11 pBq/m3 (0.30 fCi/m3) (Aarkrog 1988). Whereas debris from nuclear weapons testing is injected into the stratosphere, debris from Chernobyl was injected into the troposphere. As the mean residence time in the troposphere is 20-40 days, it would appear that the fallout would have decreased to very low levels by the end of 1986. However, from the levels of other radioactive elements, this was not the case. Sequential extraction studies were performed on aerosols collected in Lithuania after dust storms in September 1992 carried radioactive aerosols to the region from contaminated areas of the Ukraine and Belarus. The fraction distribution of241 Am in the aerosol samples was approximately (fraction, percent) organically-bound, 18% oxide-bound, 10% acid-soluble, 36% and residual, 32% (Lujaniene et al. 1999). Very little americium was found in the more readily extractable exchangeable and water soluble and specifically adsorbed fractions. 

Bioavailability from Environmental Media. The absorption and distribution of americium as a result of inhalation and ingestion exposures have been discussed in Sections 3.3.1 and 3.3.2. EPA lists identical uptake factors for inhaled and ingested americium (and all the other transuranics other than plutonium) regardless of compound solubility, indicating that the knowledge base for americium is not sufficiently developed to quantify the differences that are recognized for most other elements. 

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