Nuclear chemistry

Chemical synthesis typically draws on the roughly 90 elements found in nature and transforms them into fantastic things, which serve all imaginable needs of humankind. However, there are more than just these 90 elements in the periodic table. The synthesis of the heaviest elements, one atom at a time, is discussed here.

Superheavy elements are ideal for furthering our understanding of relativistic effects and how they affect physicochemical properties of heavy elements. In this comment, the author discusses the role of chemistry in the synthesis of new elements before addressing the future challenges concerning the chemical characterization of superheavy elements.

Preorganization is an effective strategy for f-element separation, but the complexity of extractant synthesis hinders large-scale application. Here the authors discuss an alternative strategy induced by in situ self-assembly that borrows principles of multivalent cooperativity from Nature to separate f-elements.

Superheavy elements are short-lived and only available on a single-atom level, making their chemical properties very challenging to study. Now, through their co-precipitation with samarium, single atoms of rutherfordium have been shown to form hydroxide complexes but not ammine ones.

Understanding the biogeochemistry of radionuclides in the environment is essential for effective isolation of nuclear waste in repositories, management of contaminated sites, ensuring long-term protection of our ecosystems, and limiting impacts on human health. Here the authors discuss the extreme complexity of this multidimensional chemistry problem, highlighting the outstanding open questions for the next generations of environmental radiochemists.