Chemical Formula
Pu
Background
Arthur C. Wohl, Edward M. McMillan, Joseph W. Kennedy and Glenn T. Seaborg first discovered plutonium at the University of California in 1941.They bombarded uranium-238 atoms with deuterons in a 60-inch cyclotron and created neptunium-238 and two free neutrons. Neptunium-238 further decomposed into plutonium-238 via beta decay. The element was named after the planet Pluto.
Basic Information
| Name |
Plutonium |
| Symbol |
Pu |
| Atomic number |
94 |
| Atomic weight |
244 amu |
| Standard state |
Solid at 298 K |
| CAS Registry ID |
7/5/7440 |
| Group name |
Actinoid |
| Period in periodic table |
7 |
| Block in periodic table |
f-block |
| Color |
Silvery white |
| Classification |
Metallic |
| Melting point |
913 K (640°C or 1184°F) |
| Boiling point |
3501 K (3228°C or 5842°F) |
| Density |
19.84 g/cm3 |
| Phase at room temperature |
Solid |
Occurrence
Traces of plutonium can be obtained from uranium ores. Commercially, it is produced by irradiation of uranium in nuclear reactors.
Plutonium - Periodic Table of Videos
Isotopes
Plutonium has 17 radioactive isotopes with mass numbers from 227Pu to 248Pu. The longest-lived isotopes of plutonium are 244Pu with a half-life of 80.8 million years, 242Pu with a half-life of 373,300 years and 239Pu with a half-life of 24,110 years.
Production
Plutonium is produced in nuclear reactors by irradiating uranium-238 with neutrons to form uranium-239, which in turn undergoes of series of nuclear reactions to form plutonium-239.
U-238 + n → U-239 → Np-239 → Pu-239
Health Aspects
Human exposure to radioactive plutonium for a long time may lead to deposition of the element in the internal body organs, thus causing the development of cancer.
Key Properties
The key properties of plutonium are listed below:
- It is a silvery radioactive metal
- It has six allotropic forms
- It readily dissolves in mineral acids
- It is chemically reactive and forms compounds with the halogens, silicon, nitrogen and carbon
- It is warm to the touch owing to the heat of radioactive decay.
Applications
Some of the major applications of plutonium include the following:
- It is used in nuclear bombs and reactors due to its ability to undergo nuclear chain reactions
- It is used as heat and power sources for space probes
- It is widely used in artificial pacemakers
References
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