Atom-at-a-time radiochemical separations of the heaviest elements

The isotope 260Lr, produced in reactions of 18O with 249Bk, was used to perform chemical experiments on lawrencium. These experiments involved extractions with thenoyl trifluoroacetate, elutions from cation exchange resin columns with ammonium alpha-hydroxyisobutyrate, and reverse-phase chromatography using hydrogen di(2-ethyl-hexyl) orthophosphoric acid to investigate the chemical properties of Lr. The results from the elutions gave information about the ionic radius of Lr(III) which was found to elute very close to Er. An attempt to reduce Lr(III) with hydroxylamine hydrochloride was unsuccessful. (author) 18 refs.; 2 figs