Get the latest tech news
Quantum chemistry helps characterize coordination complex of elusive Element 61
When element 61, also known as promethium, was first isolated by scientists at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory in 1945, it completed the series of chemical elements known as lanthanides. However, aspects of the element’s exact chemical nature have remained a mystery until last year, when a team of scientists from ORNL and the National Institute of Standards and Technology used a combination of experimentation and computer simulation to purify the promethium radionuclide and synthesize a coordination complex that was characterized for the first time.
However, aspects of the element’s exact chemical nature have remained a mystery until last year, when a team of scientists from ORNL and the National Institute of Standards and Technology used a combination of experimentation and computer simulation to purify the promethium radionuclide and synthesize a coordination complex that was characterized for the first time. Despite being called “rare,” many of these elements are extensively used in modern technology, including electric motors, spacecraft batteries and radiation therapy, as well as smart phones and computer monitors. The experimental investigation of promethium included developing a novel, water-soluble complexing agent and using X-ray absorption spectroscopy to determine the electronic structure of the element.
Or read this on Hacker News