Fundamentals of Actinides

Uranium was the first actinoid discovered in the year 1789 by Klaproth. In the year 1829 Berzelius discovered Thorium. Actinium was discovered in the year 1899 by Andre-Louis Debierne. Many of the actinides are found naturally in minerals or sea water.

What are actinides?

A set of radioactive elements in the periodic table whose atomic number ranges 89 to 103 are called actinides. They are also called as actinoids. These elements are located in the bottom row of the periodic table.

Actinides electronic configuration

The electronic configurations are as follows – the electrons mostly utilize the f sublevel, with the exception of a d-block element (lawrencium). Based on your understanding of the periodicity of elements, the actinide series begins with thorium or actinium and further continues to lawrencium.

Actinides properties:

The properties of actinides are discussed below:

• All the elements are radioactive and have no stable isotopes.
• They spontaneously ignite in air.
• They release hydrogen gas on reacting with dilute acid or boiling water.
• They are ductile and malleable.
• These elements are solid at room temperature.
• They appear as silver color metals.
• Some actinides are soft and can be cut with a knife.
• They fill 5f sublevel.
• They are paramagnetic.
• These elements are highly electropositive.

Actinide series:

There are a total of fifteen actinide elements. The elements are given below in a table format:

Actinide uses:

• Americium is used in smoke detectors.
• Thorium is used in gas mantles.
• Actinides have been used as dopants to make crystal and glass luminescent.
• Actinium is used in medical research.
• These elements are used to produce nuclear weapons.
• They are used as nuclear reactor fuels.
• They are used in decorative gas lights and gas lanterns.
• Used to power the pacemaker in the heart.
• Curium is used as a power source for space vehicles
• Americium is useful in cancer treatment.

For more content on various other chemistry topics such as chemical compounds – hydrogen peroxide, hydrogen peroxide uses and more register to BYJU’S.

Subscribe to BYJU’S YouTube channel for a thorough understanding of the concepts.