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About 40-50% of the actinide contraction has been attributed to relativistic effects. [2] A decrease in atomic radii can be observed across the 5f elements from atomic number 89, actinium, to 102, nobelium. This results in smaller than otherwise expected atomic radii and ionic radii for the subsequent d-block elements starting with 103, lawrencium.
In fact, the 5f subshells of the actinides have a larger spatial extent than the 4f orbitals of the lanthanides and thus actinide compounds have greater covalent character than the corresponding lanthanide compounds, leading to a more extensive coordination chemistry for the actinides than the lanthanides. [4]
Lanthanide and actinide aqua ions have higher solvation numbers (often 8 to 9), with the highest known being 11 for Ac 3+. The strength of the bonds between the metal ion and water molecules in the primary solvation shell increases with the electrical charge, z, on the metal ion and decreases as its ionic radius, r, increases. Aqua ions are ...
The lanthanides obey the Oddo–Harkins rule – odd-numbered elements are less abundant than their even-numbered neighbors. Three of the lanthanide elements have radioactive isotopes with long half-lives (138 La, 147 Sm and 176 Lu) that can be used to date minerals and rocks from Earth, the Moon and meteorites. [88]
Lanthanide metals react exothermically with hydrogen to form LnH 2, dihydrides. [1] With the exception of Eu and Yb, which resemble the Ba and Ca hydrides (non-conducting, transparent salt-like compounds),they form black pyrophoric, conducting compounds [6] where the metal sub-lattice is face centred cubic and the H atoms occupy tetrahedral sites. [1]
The rare-earth elements (REE), also called the rare-earth metals or rare earths, and sometimes the lanthanides or lanthanoids (although scandium and yttrium, which do not belong to this series, are usually included as rare earths), [1] are a set of 17 nearly indistinguishable lustrous silvery-white soft heavy metals.
The 1985 IUPAC Red Book recommends that actinoid be used rather than actinide, since the suffix -ide normally indicates a negative ion. However, owing to widespread current use, actinide is still allowed. Actinium through nobelium are f-block elements, while lawrencium is a d-block element [4] [5] and a transition metal. [6]
Plutonium is a transuranic radioactive chemical element, an actinide metal. Actinide chemistry (or actinoid chemistry) is one of the main branches of nuclear chemistry that investigates the processes and molecular systems of the actinides. The actinides derive their name from the group 3 element actinium.