Date: 6/2/2017
Location: Fulmer Hall, Room 201
Title: Protactinium: A Chemical Intersection of Actinide and Transition Metal Chemistry
Presented by: Dr. Richard Wilson, Argonne National Laboratory
Abstract: The periodic stabilization of the 5f orbitals across the early actinide series gives rise to the complex and fascinating chemical behavior that is the hallmark of these elements’ chemistry. Often overlooked, both experimentally and computationally, is the chemistry of protactinium, Z = 91.
Our hypothesis has been that protactinium sits at a chemical intersection of transition metal d- and actinide f- like chemistries that can be demonstrated experimentally and computationally. The electronic properties of our experimentally synthesized protactinium complexes, along with those of Nb, Ta, and U have been studied to explore the periodic chemical differences between these elements.
Recently, we have explored by experiment, whether or not protactinium may form a hexametalate, like that observed for niobium and tantalum. Complementary computational studies have explored whether or not such a complex would be stable. Presented here will be our combined experimental and computational study of the changing chemistries between the transition metals and the actinides, highlighting their intersection at protactinium.
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