Americium
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| Name, Symbol, Number | americium, Am, 95 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chemical series | actinides | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Group, Period, Block | n/a, 7, f | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Appearance | silvery white | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Standard atomic weight | (243) g·mol−1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Electron configuration | [Rn] 5f7 7s2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Electrons per shell | 2, 8, 18, 32, 25, 8, 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Physical properties | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Phase | solid | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Density (near r.t.) | 12 g·cm−3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Melting point | 1449 K (1176 °C, 2149 °F) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Boiling point | 2880 K (2607 °C, 4725 °F) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Heat of fusion | 14.39 kJ·mol−1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Heat capacity | (25 °C) 62.7 J·mol−1·K−1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Atomic properties | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Crystal structure | hexagonal | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Oxidation states | 6, 5, 4, 3 (amphoteric oxide) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Electronegativity | 1.3 (scale Pauling) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ionization energies | 1st: 578 kJ/mol | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Atomic radius | 175 pm | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Miscellaneous | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Magnetic ordering | no data | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Thermal conductivity | (300 K) 10 W·m−1·K−1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| CAS registry number | 7440-35-9 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Selected isotopes | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Overview
Americium (IPA: /ˌaməˈrɪsiəm/) is a synthetic element that has the symbol Am and atomic number 95. A radioactive metallic element, americium is an actinide that was obtained by bombarding plutonium with neutrons and was the fourth transuranic element to be discovered. It was named for the Americas, by analogy with europium.
Notable characteristics
Pure americium has a silvery and white lustre. At room temperatures it slowly tarnishes in dry air. It is more silvery than plutonium or neptunium and apparently more malleable than neptunium or uranium. Alpha emission from 241Am is approximately three times that of radium. Gram quantities of 241Am emit intense gamma rays which creates a serious exposure problem for anyone handling the element.
Americium is also fissile; the critical mass for an unreflected sphere of 241Am is approximately 60 kilograms. It is unlikely that Americium would be used as a weapons material, as its minimum critical mass is considerably larger than more readily obtained plutonium or uranium isotopes. [2]
Please see Actinides in the environment for more details of the environmental aspects of this element.
Applications
This element can be produced in kilogram amounts and has some uses (mostly 241Am since it is easier to produce relatively pure samples of this isotope). Americium has found its way into the household, where one type of smoke detector contains a tiny amount (about 0.2 microgram) of 241Am as a source of ionizing radiation. 241Am has been used as a portable gamma ray source for use in radiography. The element has also been employed to gauge glass thickness to help create flat glass. 242Am is a neutron emitter and has found uses in neutron radiography. It has also been cited for use as an advanced nuclear rocket propulsion fuel[3]. This isotope is, however, extremely expensive to produce in usable quantities.
History
Americium was first isolated by Glenn T. Seaborg, Leon O. Morgan, Ralph A. James, and Albert Ghiorso in late 1944 at the wartime Metallurgical Laboratory at the University of Chicago (now known as Argonne National Laboratory). The team created the isotope 241Am by subjecting 239Pu to successive neutron capture reactions in a nuclear reactor. This created 240Pu and then 241Pu which in turn decayed into 241Am via beta decay. Seaborg was granted U.S. Patent 3,156,523 for "Element 95 and Method of Producing Said Element," whose unusually terse claim number 1 reads simply, "Element 95." The discovery of americium and curium was first announced informally on a children's quiz show in 1945. [4]
Isotopes
Chemistry
In aqueous systems the most common oxidation state is +3. It is very much harder to oxidize Am(III) to Am(IV) than it is to oxidise Pu(III) to Pu(IV).
Currently the solvent extraction chemistry of americium is important as in several areas of the world scientists are working on reducing the medium term radiotoxicity of the waste from the reprocessing of used nuclear fuel.
See liquid-liquid extraction for some examples of the solvent extraction of americium.
Americium, unlike uranium, does not readily form a dioxide americyl core (AmO2). [5] This is because americium is very hard to oxidise above the +3 oxidation state when it is in an aqeuous solution. In the environment, this americyl core could complex with carbonate as well as other oxygen moieties (OH-, NO2-, NO3-, and SO4-2) to form charged complexes which tend to be readily mobile with low affinities to soil.
- AmO2(OH)+1
- AmO2(OH)2+2
- AmO2CO3+1
- AmO2(CO3)2-1
- AmO2(CO3)3-3
A large amount of work has been done on the solvent extraction of americium, as it is the case that americium and the other transplutonium elements are responsible for the majority of the long lived radiotoxicity of spent nuclear fuel. It is thought that by removal of the americium and curium that the used fuel will only need to be isolated from man and his environment for a shorter time than that required for the isolation of untreated used fuel. One recent EU funded project on this topic was known by the codename "EUROPART". Within this project triazines and other compounds were studied as potential extraction agents.
References
External links
- Los Alamos National Laboratory - Americium
- Guide to the Elements - Revised Edition, Albert Stwertka, (Oxford University Press; 1998) ISBN 0-19-508083-1
- It's Elemental - Americium
- ATSDR - Public Health Statement: Americium
- Nuclides and Isotopes - 14th Edition, GE Nuclear Energy, 1989.
- Patent US3,156,523 (1964-11-10) Glenn T. Seaborg Element 95 and Method of Producing Said Element
- CEA Can the minor actinide, americium-241, be transmuted by thermal neutrons?
- American Institude of Physics Conference Proceedings
- WebElements.com - Americium (also used as a reference)
- NLM Hazardous Substances Databank - Americium, radioactive
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Acknowledgement and Attribution Regarding Sources of Content
Some of the initial content on this page may be incorporated in part from copyleft sources in the public domain including wikis such as Wikipedia and AskDrWiki. Drug information for patients came from the The National Library of Medicine. Infectious disease information may have come from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Differential Diagnoses are drawn from clinicians as well as an amalgamation of 3 sources: 1.The Disease Database; 2. Kahan, Scott, Smith, Ellen G. In A Page: Signs and Symptoms. Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishing, 2004:3; 3. Sailer, Christian, Wasner, Susanne. Differential Diagnosis Pocket. Hermosa Beach, CA: Borm Bruckmeir Publishing LLC, 2002:7 .
