Promethium Chemistry Breakthrough Could Unlock New Applications
Image courtesy of Jacquelyn DeMink (art) and Thomas Dyke (photography), Oak Ridge National Laboratory Conceptual art showing the rare earth element promethium in a vial surrounded by an organic ligand.
Promethium is in growing demand thanks to its use in things like luminous paint, for lighting, and in small nuclear batteries that power pacemakers, communications equipment, and national security technologies. It also has potential uses in radioactive imaging and cancer treatments. Promethium is one of a series of 15 metallic elements called lanthanides. These elements are difficult to separate from one another because they are so chemically similar.
Recently, Scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory were able to study the electronic structure of a promethium complex, providing new information about promethium’s chemical and physical properties and how those properties differ from those of the other lanthanides.
Knowing more about promethium’s chemical properties could lead to better separation methods and new applications. This would enable the production of purer, larger quantities of the isotope. Currently, the Department of Energy Isotope Program is the only global producer of promethium-147.
