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In 1945, promethium was discovered by scientists.
A monument to the many millennia of human investigation of the chemical universe is the Periodic Table of Elements. But not everything about the components that make up its carefully planned, multicolored rows and columns is understood. Promethium is among these elements.
Promethium, an atomic number 61 lanthanide that is one of a group of 15 metallic compounds sometimes referred to as rare earth metals, was first identified in 1945. For the next eight decades following its discovery, many of its chemical features remained unknown. This didn’t stop it from being used; it can still be found in everything from nuclear batteries to smartphone screens, but researching it has been challenging. This is because promethium is an incredibly uncommon element that only really comes via fission, when it decays into other elements.
A new procedure that was put into place last year by scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory—a branch of the original facility that made the element’s discovery in 1945—made it possible to produce a pure sample of the isotope promethium-147. After combining this sample with a ligand to create a stable complex in water, the researchers were able to use X-ray spectroscopy to examine Promethium’s bonding characteristics.
Promethium was the latest lanthanide to be found and has proven to be the most challenging to analyze due to its lack of stable isotopes, according to a press release from co-author Ilja Popovs of ORNL. “These rare earth elements are involved in everything that we would consider a modern marvel of technology…we are adding the missing link.”
In order to study the Promethium element more closely, scientists initially synthesized a substance called bispyrrolidine diglycolamide (PyDGA). This gave the resultant Pm-PyDGA’s electron structure a pink tint when mixed with Promethium, but more significantly, it made it possible for the researchers to shoot x-rays and quantify the frequencies absorbed, providing information about Promethium’s chemical bonds.
Gaining knowledge about promethium and its bonding characteristics will enable ORNL to create the rare earth metal in larger amounts and enhance methods of separating it from other lanthanides. This is because, according to ORNL, the researchers effectively illustrated a phenomenon known as “lanthanide contraction,” which explains why ion radii decrease as atomic numbers in the lanthanide series grow. This produces a distinct chemical and electronic signature, and researchers at ORNL captured a distinct “promethium signal,” which will be useful in determining the general trend for other rare earth metals.
“All of these lanthanides cannot be used as a mixture in today’s sophisticated technologies because separation is a prerequisite,” said Santa Jansone-Popova. “This is where contraction becomes very important; it basically allows us to separate them, which is still quite a difficult task.”
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“All of these lanthanides cannot be used as a mixture in today’s sophisticated technologies because separation is a prerequisite,” said Santa Jansone-Popova. “This is where contraction becomes very important; it basically allows us to separate them, which is still quite a difficult task.” “All of these lanthanides cannot be used as a mixture in today’s sophisticated technologies because separation is a prerequisite,” said Santa Jansone-Popova. “This is where contraction becomes very important; it basically allows us to separate them, which is still quite a difficult task.”
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Scientists Discovered Promethium in 1945. They Only Just Learned What It Actually Does. (msn.com)
promethium was discovered by scientists. promethium was discovered by scientists. promethium was discovered by scientists.