Americium

95 plutonium ← americium → curium Eu ↑ Am ↓ (Uqp) periodic table
General
Name, Symbol, Number	americium, Am, 95
Chemical series	actinides
Group, Period, Block	n/a, 7, f
Appearance	silvery white
Atomic mass	(243) g/mol
Electron configuration	[Rn] 5f7 7s2
Electrons per shell	2, 8, 18, 32, 25, 8, 2
Physical properties
Phase	solid
Density (near r.t.)	12 g/cm³
Melting point	1449 K (1176 °C, 2149 °F)
Boiling point	2880 K (2607 °C, 4725 °F)
Heat of fusion	14.39 kJ/mol
Heat capacity	(25 °C) 62.7 J/(mol·K)
Vapor pressure P/Pa 1 10 100 1 k 10 k 100 k at T/K 1239 1356
Atomic properties
Crystal structure	hexagonal
Oxidation states	6, 5, 4, 3 (amphoteric oxide)
Electronegativity	1.3 (Pauling scale)
Ionization energies	1st: 578 kJ/mol
Atomic radius	175 pm
Miscellaneous
Magnetic ordering	no data
Thermal conductivity	(300 K) 10 W/(m·K)
CAS registry number	7440-35-9
Notable isotopes
Main article: Isotopes of americium iso NA half-life DM DE (MeV) DP 241Am syn 432.2 y SF - - α 5.638 237Np 242mAm syn 141 y IT 0.049 - α 5.637 238Np SF - - 243Am syn 7370 y SF - - α 5.438 239Np

Americium (chemical symbol Am, atomic number 95) is a radioactive, synthetic metallic element, classified as an actinide. It was the fourth transuranic element to be discovered, obtained by bombarding plutonium with neutrons. It was named for the Americas, by analogy with europium.

This element, which can be produced in kilogram quantities, and has several uses, particularly in the form of the isotope ²⁴¹Am. For instance, one type of smoke detector contains a tiny amount of ²⁴¹Am as a source of ionizing radiation. In addition, this isotope has been used as a portable gamma-ray source for radiography, and it provides a way to gauge the thickness of glass. Another isotope, ²⁴²Am, is a neutron emitter and has found uses in neutron radiography, but it is far more expensive to produce.

History

Americium was first isolated by Glenn T. Seaborg, Leon O. Morgan, Ralph A. James, and Albert Ghiorso in late 1944 at the wartime Metallurgical Laboratory at the University of Chicago (now known as Argonne National Laboratory). The team created the isotope ²⁴¹Am by subjecting ²³⁹Pu to successive neutron capture reactions in a nuclear reactor. This created ²⁴⁰Pu and then ²⁴¹Pu which in turn decayed into ²⁴¹Am via beta decay. Seaborg was granted patent 3,156,523 for "Element 95 and Method of Producing Said Element." The discovery of americium and curium was first announced informally on a children's quiz show in 1945.

Notable characteristics

Americium is an inner transition metal of the actinide series, located in period seven of the periodic table, between plutonium and curium. The pure element has a silvery and white luster. At room temperature, it slowly tarnishes in dry air. It is more silvery than plutonium or neptunium and apparently more malleable than neptunium or uranium. Alpha emission from ²⁴¹Am is approximately three times that of radium. Gram quantities of ²⁴¹Am emit intense gamma rays which creates a serious exposure problem for anyone handling the element.

Americium is also fissile; the critical mass for an unreflected sphere of ²⁴¹Am is approximately 60 kilograms. It is unlikely that Americium would be used as a weapons material, as its minimum critical mass is considerably larger than more readily obtained plutonium or uranium isotopes.

Chemistry

In aqueous systems the most common oxidation state is +3. It is much harder to oxidize Am(III) to Am(IV) than it is to oxidize Pu(III) to Pu(IV).

Currently, scientists in several parts of the world are working on reducing the medium-term radiotoxicity of waste from the reprocessing of used nuclear fuel. Toward this goal, the solvent extraction chemistry of americium may play an important role.

Americium, unlike uranium, does not readily form a dioxide americyl core (AmO₂). This is because americium is very hard to oxidize above the +3 oxidation state when it is in an aqeuous solution. In the environment, this americyl core could complex with carbonate as well as other oxygen moieties (OH^-, NO₂^-, NO₃^-, and SO₄^-2) to form charged complexes which tend to be readily mobile with low affinities to soil.

• AmO₂(OH)⁺¹
• AmO₂(OH)₂⁺²
• AmO₂(CO₃)₁⁺¹
• AmO₂(CO₃)₂^-1
• AmO₂(CO₃)₃^-3

Isotopes

Sample of americium

Many radioisotopes of americium have been characterized, with the most stable being ²⁴³Am with a half-life of 7370 years, and ²⁴¹Am with a half-life of 432.7 years. All of the remaining radioactive isotopes have half-lives that are less than 51 hours, and the majority of these have half-lives that are less than 100 minutes. This element also has eight meta states, with the most stable being ^242mAm (t_½ 141 years). The isotopes of americium range in atomic weight from 231.046 amu (²³¹Am) to 249.078 amu (²⁴⁹Am).

Applications

This element can be produced in kilogram amounts and has some uses. In most cases, the isotope ²⁴¹Am is used, because it is easier to produce at relatively high purity. Americium has found its way into the household, where one type of smoke detector contains a tiny amount (about 0.2 microgram) of ²⁴¹Am as a source of ionizing radiation. ²⁴¹Am has been used as a portable gamma ray source for use in radiography. The element has also been employed to gauge glass thickness to help create flat glass. In addition, ²⁴²Am is a neutron emitter and has found uses in neutron radiography, but this isotope is extremely expensive to produce in usable quantities.

See also

• Chemical element
• Inner transition metal
• Metal
• Periodic table
• Radioactive decay

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• Emsley, John. 2001. Nature's Building Blocks: An A–Z Guide to the Elements. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press. ISBN 0198503407
• Greenwood, N.N., and A. Earnshaw. 1998. Chemistry of the Elements 2nd ed. Oxford, UK; Burlington, MA: Butterworth-Heinemann. ISBN 0750633654
• Hampel, Clifford A. 1968. The Encyclopedia of the Chemical Elements. New York: Reinhold Book Corp. ISBN 0442155980
• Morss, Lester R., Norman M. Edelstein, and Jean Fuger, eds. 2006. The Chemistry of the Actinide and Transactinide Elements. 3rd ed. 5 vols. Joseph J. Katz, adapter. Dordrecht: Springer. ISBN 1402035551
• Stwertka, Albert. 1998. Guide to the Elements. Rev. ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-508083-1

External links

All links retrieved July 25, 2023.

• Winter, Mark. Americium The University of Sheffield and WebElements Ltd.
• Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility, Office of Science Education. It's Elemental: Americium Jefferson Lab.

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