Actinide

Metals

Group 12

Members:

Paglinawan

Sadick

Duenas

What are Actinide Metals?

The actinides (sometimes called actinoids) occupy the "bottom line" of the periodic
table—a row of elements normally separated from the others, placed at the foot of
the chart along with the lanthanides. Both of these families exhibit unusual atomic
characteristics, properties that set them apart from the normal sequence on the
periodic table. But there is more that distinguishes the actinides, a group of 14
elements along with the transition metal actinium. Only four of them occur in nature,
while the other 10 have been produced in laboratories. These 10 are classified, along
with the nine elements to the right of actinium on Period 7 of the periodic table, as
transuranium (beyond uranium) elements. Few of these elements have important
applications in daily life; on the other hand, some of the lower-number transuranium
elements do have specialized uses. Likewise several of the naturally occurring
actinides are used in areas ranging from medical imaging to powering spacecraft.
Then there is uranium, "star" of the actinide series: for centuries it seemed virtually
useless; then, in a matter of years, it became the most talked-about element
on Earth.

History of Actinide Metals

The first actinides to be discovered were Uranium by Klaproth in 1789 and Thorium
by Berezelius in 1829, but most of the Actinides were man-made products of the
20th century. Actinium and Protactinium are found in small portions in nature, as
decay products of 253-Uranium and 238-Uranium. Microscopic amounts of
Plutonium are made by neutron capture by Uranium, and yet occur naturally.
Monazite is the principle Thorium ore. It is a phosphate ore that contains great
amounts of Lanthanides in it. The main Uranium ore is U3O8 and is known as
pitchblende, because it occurs in black, pitch-like masses. An example of pitchblende
is located in the picture below. All elements past Uranium are man-made. Actinides
require special handling, because many of them are radioactive and/or unstable.
The radiation in actinides plays a large role in the chemistry and arrangement of
particles in crystals

Examples of Actinide Metals

Plutonium Neptunium Fermium

Americium Berkelium Mendelevium

Uranium Lawrencium

Actinium Einsteinium

Curium Californium

Plutonium
Plutonium is a transuranic radioactive chemical element with symbol Pu and atomic
number 94. It is an actinide metal of silvery-gray appearance that tarnishes when
exposed to air, and forms a dull coating when oxidized. The element normally exhibits
six allotropes and four oxidation states. It reacts
with carbon, halogens, nitrogen, silicon and hydrogen. When exposed to moist air, it
forms oxides and hydrides that can expand the sample up to 70% in volume, which in
turn flake off as a powder that is pyrophoric. It is radioactive and can accumulate
in bones, which makes the handling of plutonium dangerous.

Americium
Americium is a synthetic chemical element with symbol Am and atomic number 95. It is
a transuranic member of the actinideseries, in the periodic table located under
the lanthanide element europium, and thus by analogy was named after the Americas.
Americium was first produced in 1944 by the group of Glenn T. Seaborg from Berkeley,
California, at the Metallurgical Laboratoryof the University of Chicago, a part of
the Manhattan Project. Although it is the third element in the transuranic series, it was
discovered fourth, after the heavier curium. The discovery was kept secret and only
released to the public in November 1945. Most americium is produced
by uranium or plutonium being bombarded with neutrons in nuclear reactors –
one tonne of spent nuclear fuel contains about 100 grams of americium. It is widely used
in commercial ionization chamber smoke detectors, as well as in neutron sources and
industrial gauges. Several unusual applications, such as nuclear batteries or fuel for
space ships with nuclear propulsion, have been proposed for the isotope 242mAm, but
they are as yet hindered by the scarcity and high price of this nuclear isomer.

Uranium
Uranium is a chemical element with symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a
silvery-white metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has
92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Uranium is
weakly radioactivebecause all isotopes of uranium are unstable, with half-livesvarying
between 159,200 years and 4.5 billion years. The most common isotopes in natural
uranium are uranium-238 (which has 146 neutrons and accounts for over 99%)
and uranium-235(which has 143 neutrons). Uranium has the highest atomic weight of
the primordially occurring elements. Its density is about 70% higher than that of lead,
and slightly lower than that of gold or tungsten. It occurs naturally in low concentrations
of a few parts per million in soil, rock and water, and is commercially extracted from
uranium-bearing minerals such as uraninite

Actinium
Actinium is a chemical element with symbol Ac and atomic number 89. Actinium gave
the name to the actinide series, a group of 15 similar elements between actinium
and lawrencium in the periodic table. It is also sometimes considered the first of the
7th-period transition metals, although lawrencium is less commonly given that position.
Discovered in 1899, it was the first non-primordial radioactive element to be
isolated. Polonium, radium and radon were observed before actinium, but they were
not isolated until 1902.
 Curium
Curium is a transuranic radioactive chemical element with symbol Cm and atomic
number 96. This element of the actinide series was named after Marie and Pierre Curie –
both were known for their research on radioactivity. Curium was first intentionally
produced and identified in July 1944 by the group of Glenn T. Seaborg at the University
of California, Berkeley. The discovery was kept secret and only released to the public in
November 1945. Most curium is produced by
bombarding uranium or plutonium with neutrons in nuclear reactors – one tonne of
spent nuclear fuel contains about 20 grams of curium.

Neptunium
Neptunium is a chemical element with symbol Np and atomic number 93.
A radioactive actinide metal, neptunium is the first transuranic element. Its position in
the periodic table just after uranium, named after the planet Uranus, led to it being
named after Neptune, the next planet beyond Uranus. A neptunium atom has
93 protons and 93 electrons, of which seven are valence electrons. Neptunium metal is
silvery and tarnishes when exposed to air. The element occurs in three allotropic forms
and it normally exhibits five oxidation states, ranging from +3 to +7. It
is radioactive, poisonous, pyrophoric, and can accumulate in bones, which makes the
handling of neptunium dangerous.

Berkelium
Berkelium is a transuranic radioactive chemical element with symbol Bk and atomic
number 97. It is a member of the actinideand transuranium element series. It is named
after the city of Berkeley, California, the location of the Lawrence Berkeley National
Laboratory (then the University of California Radiation Laboratory) where it was
discovered in December 1949. Berkelium was the fifth transuranium element discovered
after neptunium, plutonium, curium and americium.

Lawrencium
Lawrencium is a synthetic chemical element with symbol Lr(formerly Lw) and atomic
number 103. It is named in honor of Ernest Lawrence, inventor of the cyclotron, a device
that was used to discover many artificial radioactive elements. A radioactive metal,
lawrencium is the eleventh transuranic element and is also the final member of
the actinide series. Like all elements with atomic number over 100, lawrencium can only
be produced in particle accelerators by bombarding lighter elements with charged
particles. Twelve isotopes of lawrencium are currently known; the most stable is Lr with
266

a half-life of 11 hours, but the shorter-lived 260Lr (half-life

2.7 minutes) is most commonly used in chemistry because it can be produced on a

larger scale.

Einsteinium
Einsteinium is a synthetic element with symbol Es and atomic number 99. It is the
seventh transuranic element, and an actinide.

Einsteinium was discovered as a component of the debris of the first hydrogen

bomb explosion in 1952, and named after Albert Einstein. Its most
common isotope einsteinium-253 (half-life 20.47 days) is produced artificially from
decay of californium-253 in a few dedicated high-power nuclear reactors with a total
yield on the order of one milligram per year. The reactor synthesis is followed by a
complex process of separating einsteinium-253 from other actinides and products of
their decay. Other isotopes are synthesized in various laboratories, but at much smaller
amounts, by bombarding heavy actinide elements with light ions. Owing to the small
amounts of produced einsteinium and the short half-life of its most easily produced
isotope, there are currently almost no practical applications for it outside basic scientific
research. In particular, einsteinium was used to synthesize, for the first time, 17 atoms of
the new element mendelevium in 1955.

Californium
Californium is a radioactive chemical element with symbol Cfand atomic number 98.
The element was first synthesized in 1950 at the Lawrence Berkeley National
Laboratory (then the University of California Radiation Laboratory), by
bombarding curium with alpha particles (helium-4 ions). It is an actinideelement, the
sixth transuranium element to be synthesized, and has the second-highest atomic mass
of all the elements that have been produced in amounts large enough to see with
the unaided eye (after einsteinium). The element was named after the university and the
state of California.
 Fermium
Fermium is a synthetic element with symbol Fm and atomic number 100. It is a member
of the actinide series. It is the heaviest element that can be formed
by neutron bombardment of lighter elements, and hence the last element that can be
prepared in macroscopic quantities, although pure fermium metal has not yet been
prepared.[2] A total of 19 isotopes are known, with 257 Fm being the longest-lived with a
half-life of 100.5 days.

It was discovered in the debris of the first hydrogen bombexplosion in 1952, and named
after Enrico Fermi, one of the pioneers of nuclear physics. Its chemistry is typical for the
late actinides, with a preponderance of the +3 oxidation state but also an accessible +2
oxidation state. Owing to the small amounts of produced fermium and all of its isotopes
having relatively short half-lives, there are currently no uses for it outside basic scientific
research.
 Mendelevium
Mendelevium is a synthetic element with chemical symbol Md(formerly Mv) and atomic
number 101. A metallic radioactivetransuranic element in the actinide series, it is the first
element that currently cannot be produced in macroscopic quantities
through neutron bombardment of lighter elements. It is the third-to-last actinide and
the ninth transuranic element. It can only be produced in particle accelerators by
bombarding lighter elements with charged particles. A total of sixteen mendelevium
isotopesare known, the most stable being Md with a half-life of 51 days; nevertheless,
258

the shorter-lived 256Md (half-life 1.17 hours) is most commonly used in chemistry because
it can be produced on a larger scale.

Mendelevium was discovered by bombarding einsteinium with alpha particles in 1955,

the same method still used to produce it today. It was named after Dmitri Mendeleev,
father of the periodic table of the chemical elements. Using
available microgramquantities of the isotope einsteinium-253, over a million
mendelevium atoms may be produced each hour. The chemistry of mendelevium is
typical for the late actinides, with a preponderance of the +3 oxidation state but also an
accessible +2 oxidation state. Owing to the small amounts of produced mendelevium
and all of its isotopes having relatively short half-lives, there are currently no uses for it
outside of basic scientific research.