A new heavy element chemistry program has been developed at Texas A&M University Cyclotron Institute.  The aim of this program is to investigate the influence of relativistic effects on the chemical properties of the heaviest elements.  Relativistic effects cause a contraction of the innermost s and p electronic orbitals, which in turn causes an expansion of the outermost d and f electronic orbitals.  Any change in chemical behavior due to the expansion of the outermost electronic orbitals will be exhibited in the heaviest elements, as relativistic effects scale to Z2.  The new heavy element chemistry program at Texas A&M University Cyclotron Institute has the capability to evaluate chemical system for use in heavy element experiments through the use of a traditional radiochemistry laboratory, as well as the ability to perform accelerator-based atom-at-a-time chemical experiments.  The facility at the Cyclotron Institute for accelerator-based experiments can be used to perform both solvent extraction and column chromatography chemical experiments, through the use of a customized state-of-the-art modular radiochemistry laboratory that can be coupled to the backend of MARS beamline.  The most recent results from off-line experiments to evaluate new chemical systems, such as Eichrom's commercially available TEVA, TRU and UTEVA resins and on-line experiments to study these chemical systems using activity that has been pre-separated with MARS will be discussed.

Heavy element chemistry at Texas A&M University: From off-line to on-line

244th National Meeting (2012)

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