Neptunium (original) (raw)

Uranium - Neptunium - Plutonium Pm Np Full table
General
Name, Symbol, Number Neptunium, Np, 93
Chemical series Actinides
Period, Block 7 , f
Density, Hardness 20250 kg/m3, n/a
Appearance Silvery metallic
Atomic Properties
Atomic weight [237] amu
Atomic radius (calc.) 175 (ND) pm
Covalent radius ND pm
van der Waals radius ND pm
Electron configuration [Rn] 5f46d17s2
e- 's per energy level 2,8,18,32,22,9,2
Oxidation states (Oxide) 6, 5, 4, 3 (amphoteric)
Crystal structure 3 forms: orthorhombic, tetragonal and cubic
Physical Properties
State of matter Solid (__)
Melting point 910 K (1179�F)
Boiling point 4273 K (7232 �F)
Molar volume 11.59 ×1010-3 m3/mol
Heat of vaporization ND kJ/mol
Heat of fusion 5.19 kJ/mol
Vapor pressure ND Pa at 1323 K
Velocity of sound ND m/s at 293.15 K
Miscellaneous
Electronegativity 1.36 (Pauling scale)
Specific heat capacity unknown J/(kg*K)
Electrical conductivity 0.822 106/m ohm
Thermal conductivity 6.3 W/(m*K)
1st ionization potential 604.5 kJ/mol
Most stable isotopes
isoNAhalf-life DMDE MeVDP 235Np{syn.}396.1 d&alpha&epsilon5.1920.124231Pa235U 236Np{syn.}154 E3 y εβ-α0.9400.9405.020236U 236Pu232Pa 237Np{syn.}2.144 E6 ySF & α4.959233Pa
SI units & STP are used except where noted.

Neptunium, also known less commonly as poseidonium, is a synthetic element in the periodic table that has the symbol Np and atomic number 93. A silvery radioactive metallic element, neptunium is the first transuranic element and belongs to the actinide series. It's most stable isotope, neptunium-237 is a by-product of nuclear reactors and plutonium production and it can be used as a component in neutron detection equipment. Neptunium is also found in trace amounts in uranium ores.

Notable characteristics

Silvery in appearance, neptunium metal is fairly chemically reactive and is found in at least three structural modifications:

This element has four ionic oxidation states while in solution:

Neptunium forms tri- and tetrahalides such as NpF3, NpF4, NpCl4, NpBr3, NpI3, and oxides of the various compositions such as are found in the uranium-oxygen system, including Np3O8 and NpO2.

History

Neptunium (named for the planet Neptune) was first discovered by Edwin McMillan and Philip Abelson in 1940. The discovery was made at the Berkeley Radiation Laboratory of the University of California, Berkeley where the team produced the neptunium isotope Np-239 (2.4 day half-life) by bombarding uranium with cyclotron-accelerated neutrons. It was the first transuranium element produced synthetically and the first actinide series transuranium element discovered.

Occurrence

Trace amounts of neptunium are found naturally as decay products from

transmutation reactions in uranium ores. Np-237 is produced through the reduction of NpF3 with barium or lithium vapor at around 1200° C and is most often extracted from spent nuclear fuel rods as a by-product in plutonium production.

Isotopes

19 neptunium

radioisotopes have been characterized, with the most stable being Np-237 with a half-life of 2.14 million years, Np-236 with a half-life of 154,000 years, and Np-235 with a half-life of 396.1 days. All of the remaining radioactive isotopes have half-lifes that are less than 4.5 days, and the majority of these have half lifes that are less than 50 minutes. This element also has 4 meta states, with the most stable being Np-236m (t� 22.5 hours).

The isotopes of neptunium range in atomic weight from 225.0339 amu (Np-225) to 244.068 amu (Np-244). The primary decay mode before the most stable isotope, Np-237, is electron capture (with a good deal of alpha emission), and the primary mode after is beta emission. The primary decay products before Np-237 are element 92 (uranium) isotopes (alpha emission produces element 91, protactinium, however) and the primary products after are element 93 (plutonium) isotopes.

References