Astatination

Taking francium as an example, it was assumed that the minute traces of francium ion Fr could be separated from other ions in solution by co-precipitation with insoluble caesium chlorate (VII) (perchlorate) because francium lies next to caesium in Group lA. This assumption proved to be correct and francium was separated by this method. Similarly, separation of astatine as the astatide ion At was achieved by co-precipitation on silver iodide because silver astatide AgAt was also expected to be insoluble. 

By considering the trends in the vertical groups of the Periodic Table, deduce possible answers to the following questions concerning the element astatine (At), atomic number 85. 

Astatine can be produced by bombarding bismuth with energetic alpha particles to obtain the relatively long-lived 209-211At, which can be distilled from the target by heating in air. 

The "time of flight" mass spectrometer has been used to confirm that this highly radioactive halogen behaves chemically very much like other halogens, particularly iodine. Astatine is said to be more metallic than iodine, and, like iodine, it probably accumulates in the thyroid gland. Workers at the Brookhaven National Laboratory have recently used reactive scattering in crossed molecular beams to identify and measure elementary reactions involving astatine. 

The Halogens Fluorine, Chlorine, Bromine, Iodine and Astatine... 

The fugitive radioactive element astatine can hardly be said to exist in nature though the punctillious would rightly point to its temporary participation in the natural radioactive series. Thus At (t i 54 s) occurs as a... 

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