The elements beyond uranium were unknown before the Manhattan Project and since that defining moment, the Heavy Element Chemistry program has been continuously supported in some manifestation throughout the Atomic Energy Commission years up to the present-day Department of Energy due to its underlying support of DOE’s mission in Energy, Environment, and National Security. Knowledge of the chemical characteristics of the heavy elements under realistic conditions at liquid-solid and liquid-liquid interfaces is essential for the development of future nuclear fuel cycles. Fundamental understanding of the chemistry of these long-lived radioactive species is required to accurately predict and mitigate their transport and fate in the environment. Knowledge of the physical properties of defense-relevant elements is required to develop technologies to counter proliferation of weapon-useable nuclear material. The role of 5f electrons in actinide bonds remains a fundamental topic in actinide chemistry; specifically, how they participate in the band structure of metallic and ceramic materials, and to what extent they participate in molecular actinide bond formation. Experimental validation of the theoretical properties of models will be the key to understanding the role of the 5f electrons. The heaviest elements are the elements that we know the least about. This is due partly to the challenges posed by doing chemistry with molecules containing radioactive isotopes, and partly due to the fact that most of these elements were not even discovered until recently. Research toward understanding the chemical bonding of elements that have 5f and 6d electrons will lead to a better quantum-mechanical understanding of all bonding, as molecules containing these elements at the extreme end of the periodic table pose an extreme test of our understanding of bonding.

Studying the fundamental chemistry toward the end of the periodic table: The Heavy Element Chemistry program

254th National Meeting (2017)

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