More than one hundred years after the discovery of radioactivity and seventy years after the report of the first man-made transuranium elements (neptunium), actinide science remains a �hot� topic (pun intended). Continuing research on the synthesis of new elements has conclusively established that the actinides are indeed a 5f series with fourteen members. In addition to their interesting chemistry, similar to that of both their 5d and 4f progenitors, actinides possess nuclear properties that are unique in the periodic table. Actinides alone enable energy production based on nuclear fission. Most of the actinides from thorium through americium have technologically important uses. The increasingly short half-lives that are seen in the elements heavier than californium pretty much guarantee that the heaviest actinides will never assume an important role in technology. In this presentation, features of the chemistry of these elements will be discussed in the context of the challenges presented by life in the 21st Century.

Actinides in science and technology: 21<sup>st</sup> century challenges

244th National Meeting (2012)

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Actinides in science and technology: 21st century challenges

Actinides in science and technology: 21^st century challenges