Research in radiochemistry

A laboratory of radiochemical research under the supervision of the author of this paper was created in 1951 in the Institute of Physical Chemistry of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR. In 1954, it evolved into a radiochemical branch with the formation of a number of new laboratories. The general physical and physiochemical properties of radioactive substances were studied in the course of the research of the branch and some other laboratories, and the chemistry of individual radioactive elements, viz., technetium, promethium, and many representatives of the actinide family, as well as the products of uranium fission, was developed. The methods of quantum chemistry were used to substantiate and predict the extremal valence states of actinides. Attention was directed to the development of the practical utilization of radioactive elements. A review of the most important results obtained in the last 15-20 years is given