Protactinium
2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Chemical elements
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| General | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Name, Symbol, Number | protactinium, Pa, 91 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chemical series | actinides | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Group, Period, Block | n/a, 7, f | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Appearance | bright, silvery metallic luster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Atomic mass | 231.03588 (2) g/mol | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Electron configuration | [Rn] 5f2 6d1 7s2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Electrons per shell | 2, 8, 18, 32, 20, 9, 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Physical properties | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Phase | solid | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Density (near r.t.) | 15.37 g·cm−3 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Melting point | 1841 K (1568 ° C, 2854 ° F) |
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| Boiling point | ? 4300 K (? 4027 ° C, ? ° F) |
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| Heat of fusion | 12.34 kJ·mol−1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Heat of vaporization | 481 kJ·mol−1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Atomic properties | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Crystal structure | orthorhombic | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Oxidation states | 5 (weakly basic oxide) |
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| Electronegativity | 1.5 (Pauling scale) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ionization energies | 1st: 568 kJ/mol | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Atomic radius | 180 pm | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Miscellaneous | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Magnetic ordering | no data | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Electrical resistivity | (0 °C) 177 nΩ·m | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Thermal conductivity | (300 K) 47 W·m−1·K−1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| CAS registry number | 7440-13-3 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Selected isotopes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| References | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Protactinium ( IPA: /ˌprəʊˌtakˈtɪniəm/) is a chemical element in the periodic table that has the symbol Pa and atomic number 91.
Notable Characteristics
Protactinium is a silver metallic element that belongs to the actinide group, with a bright metallic luster that it retains for some time in the air. It is superconductive at temperatures below 1.4 K.
Applications
Due to its scarcity, high radioactivity and toxicity, there are currently no uses for protactinium outside of basic scientific research.
Protactinium-231, which is formed by the alpha decay of Uranium-235, could possibly sustain a nuclear chain reaction and might, in principle, be used to build a nuclear weapon. The critical mass, according to Walter Seifritz, is 750±180 kg. Other authors conclude that no chain reactions are possible in Protactinium-231.
History
Protactinium was first identified in 1913, when Kasimir Fajans and O. H. Göhring encountered short-lived isotope 234m-Pa, with a half-life of about 1.17 minutes, during their studies of the decay chain of 238-U. They gave the new element the name Brevium (Latin brevis, brief, short); the name was changed to Protoactinium in 1918 when two groups of scientists ( Otto Hahn and Lise Meitner of Germany and Frederick Soddy and John Cranston of the UK) independently discovered 231-Pa, and shortened to Protactinium in 1949.
Aristid V. Grosse prepared 2 mg of Pa2O5 in 1927, and later on managed to isolate Protactinium for the first time in 1934 from 0.1 mg of Pa2O5, first converting the oxide to an iodide and then cracking it in a high vacuum by an electrically heated filament by the reaction 2PaI5 → 2Pa + 5I2.
In 1961, the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority was able to produce 125 g of 99.9% pure protactinium, processing 60 tons of waste material in a 12-stage process and spending 500,000 USD; this was the world's only supply of the element for many years to come, and it is reported that the metal was sold to laboratories for a cost of 2,800 USD / g in the following years.
Biological Role
Protactinium does not play any biological role.
Occurrence
Protactinium occurs in pitchblende to the extent of about 1 part 231Pa to 10 million of ore. Some ores from the Democratic Republic of the Congo have about 3 ppm.
Compounds
Known protactinium compounds include:
- Fluorides
- PaF4
- PaF5
- Chlorides
- PaCl4
- PaCl5
- Bromides
- PaBr4
- PaBr5
- Iodides
- PaI3
- PaI4
- PaI5
- Oxides
- PaO
- PaO2
- Pa2O5
Isotopes
29 radioisotopes of protactinium have been characterized, with the most stable being 231-Pa with a half life of 32760 years, 233-Pa with a half-life of 26.967 days, and 230-Pa with a half-life of 17.4 days. All of the remaining radioactive isotopes have half-lifes that are less than 1.6 days, and the majority of these have half lifes that are less than 1.8 seconds. This element also has 2 meta states, 217m-Pa (t½ 1.15 milliseconds) and 234m-Pa (t½ 1.17 minutes).
The primary decay mode before the most stable isotope, 231-Pa, is alpha decay and the primary mode after is beta minus decay. The primary decay products before 231-Pa are element Ac (actinium) isotopes and the primary products after are element U (uranium) isotopes.
Precautions
Protactinium is both toxic and highly radioactive. It requires precautions similar to those used when handling plutonium.