Probing the subtle differences between promethium and curium

Trenton B. Vogt, Megan E. Simms, Connor J. Parker, April J. Miller, Laetitia H. Delmau, Richard T. Mayes, Samantha K. Cary, Alyssa N. Gaiser, Cristian Celis-Barros () and Frankie D. White ()
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Trenton B. Vogt: Michigan State University
Megan E. Simms: Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Connor J. Parker: Oak Ridge National Laboratory
April J. Miller: Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Laetitia H. Delmau: Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Richard T. Mayes: Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Samantha K. Cary: Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Alyssa N. Gaiser: Michigan State University
Cristian Celis-Barros: Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Frankie D. White: Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Nature Communications, 2025, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-6

Abstract: Abstract Curium and promethium share similar chemical and physical properties thereby complicating their separation. Co-located processing at Oak Ridge National Laboratory results in curium contamination of the fission product stream containing promethium. To gain insight into the difficulty of this separation, the fundamental properties of these elements are experimentally and computationally probed in a 2,2’:6’,2”-terpyridine crystal system. Analysis of the isostructural compounds via single crystal X-ray diffraction and quantum theory of atoms in molecules reveals that bonding between promethium and curium is quite similar in this particular structure type. The small differences in the analysis of these two elements in this isostructural series sheds light on the difficulty required to separate the elements from each other. More so, this study develops the fundamental chemistries of two rare elements in the solid state and experimentally portrays the often-omitted position of promethium within the lanthanide series.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-58209-3

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