Scientists have synthesized tetrafluoride powders of four radioactive elements—thorium, uranium, neptunium, and plutonium. These four elements are actinides, a series of heavy and radioactive elements. Tetrafluoride powders are simply powders with four fluoride atoms per atom of actinide. In this new study, scientists probed the magnetic fields of these powders. This revealed remarkable variations in the electronic structures of the powders even though they have nearly identical crystal structures. These studies reveal the transition of valence electrons from itinerant to localized behavior across the actinide row of the periodic table; that is, for atoms of lighter elements of the row the electrons in the outer shell can be shared with neighbors, whereas for heavier elements electrons are confined to the atom. This research provides a basis for future studies of electronic configurations in other materials with similar crystal structures.
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Source: Phys.org