Electrochemical oxidation of 243 Am(III) in nitric acid by a terpyridyl-derivatized electrode
Abstract
You've probably heard of uranium and plutonium. Americium (Am) is less widely discussed outside chemistry circles, but the separation of this heavier radioactive element from nuclear waste streams is a major goal of fuel reprocessing research. The trouble is that trivalent Am ions are hard to tease apart from similarly charged lanthanide ions. Dares et al. now show that terpyridyl ligands appended to an electrode can promote the oxidation of trivalent Am ions to the pentavalent and hexavalent states (see the Perspective by Soderquist). These more highly charged ions should be easier to isolate for the subsequent use of the Am in next-generation nuclear reactors.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Nov 06, 2015
- Source ID
- 10.1126/science.aac9217
Entities
People
- Alexander M. Lapides
- Bruce J. Mincher
- Christopher J. Dares
- Thomas J. Meyer
Organizations
- Idaho National Laboratory
- United States Department of Energy
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill