Oxides of transuranium elements: From first isolation to present investigations

Plutonium dioxide was the first pure substance to be characterized that incorporated a synthetic element. Oxides were the first compounds to be prepared of most other synthetic elements. Transuranium oxides continue to be materials of great fundamental interest. This paper reviews some of the most important structural, thermodynamic, and electronic properties of binary and complex transuranium oxides with emphasis on contemporary research challenges such as unusual oxidation states and superconductivity. Of special interest are unique properties of these compounds attributable to 5f electrons and to the electronic configurations of the transuranium ions