David Marx - 20-8-2004 at 00:04
Does anyone know of a low cost source of actinide, and to a lesser extent, lanthanide chemicals?
I am interested in actinide coordination chemistry and am seeking high purity, laboratory grade chemicals. I am not interested in ores, crystals or
the like. I have had some luck, in that I received some small amounts of various chemicals from associates who no longer had a use for them and were
concerned with disposal.
I've been to the usual sites, Al-Chymist, eBay and LabX. Any leads would be appreciated!
[Edited on 20-8-2004 by David Marx]
Polverone - 20-8-2004 at 09:39
Did you try emailing an inquiry to the Al-Chymist? I once asked them about obtaining thorium nitrate. They could get it for me, but to make it
worthwhile I needed to order a substantial quantity (fairly expensive) and this substantial quantity would have to be shipped to me by truck (even
more expensive), presumably because thorium's too regulated to move in quantity by the usual couriers. I don't know if it's still the
case, but a while back the Al-Chymist had quite a few more materials available than were listed on their website. You have to make an inquiry.
If you visit http://www.micronmetals.com you'll see that they have cerium, neodymium, and yttrium.
You can find thorium nitrate for sale <A HREF="http://www.labdepotinc.com/chemical_details~pid~T1044.aspx">at labdepotinc</A>,
though the prices are higher than I'd like.
They also carry <A HREF="http://www.labdepotinc.com/chemical_details~pid~U1010.aspx">uranyl nitrate</A>, though the price is
outrageous.
vulture - 20-8-2004 at 11:50
Be wary that possesion of such materials can now get you under suspicion of terrorism in certain *cough* countries, even if the materials are not
suited or of enough quantity to cause any actual destruction. Sad, but true. Media...
JohnWW - 20-8-2004 at 12:48
Re: Actinides: All of them except thorium-232 and uranium-238 (depleted uranium) are potentially dangerously radioactive in macro-quantities. All of
them are also chemically highly toxic, especially the high-valence ones like U (up to (VI)), Np (up to VII), and Pu (up to VIII)), which owe their
toxicity to forming tightly bonded complexes with vital biological molecules in which their high atomic weights reduce reactivity and help to prevent
metabolic elimination. Pu is the most toxic of them.
BTW Pu is also strongly ferromagnetic, which would make it an ideal magnet material if it were not for its radioactivity and toxicity.
John W.
tantan - 28-7-2005 at 14:21
Really? The only near-room-temperature ferromagnetic elements that I know of are Fe, Co, Ni, and Gd. I think some other lanthanides are also
ferromagnetic but only at very low temperature. Can you point me to where I can find a reference on the ferromagnetic property of Pu or other
actinides?
neutrino - 28-7-2005 at 17:11
For uranium, look here