Radio-green chemistry and nature resourced radiochemistry

The birth of green chemistry in 1990 influenced every branch of sciences including radiochemistry. The development of new radiochemical methods is now dictated by the green chemistry mandates, especially in terms of choosing solvents and reagents. Though there are numbers of environmentally benign reagents and solvents, but sometime atom economy is not fully maintained in the manufacturing process. A newer trend is to use chemicals from natural resources. This new trend in radiochemistry may be termed as “Nature Resourced Radiochemistry”. The development in last two decades in “Radio-green Chemistry” and “Nature Resourced Radiochemistry” has been briefly discussed in the review.     

Nuclear chemistry in the traditional undergraduate chemistry program: Activity across the curriculum

The traditional undergraduate program for chemistry majors, especially at institutions devoted solely to undergraduate education, has limited space for special topics courses in areas such as nuclear and radiochemistry. I propose a scheme whereby the basic topics covered in an introductory radiochemistry course are touched upon, and in some cases covered in detail, at some time during the four-year sequence of courses taken by a chemistry major.     

Activities to foster training in nuclear and radiochemistry from IACS,IAEA-Vienna

Summary Given the mismatch between supply of and demand for nuclear scientists, education in nuclear and radiochemistry has become a serious concern. The Nuclear and Radiochemistry in Chemistry Education (NRIChEd) Curriculum Project was undertaken to reintroduce the topics normally covered in a one-semester radiochemistry course into the traditional courses of a four-year chemistry major: general chemistry, organic chemistry, quantitative and instrumental analysis, and physical chemistry. NRIChEd uses a three-pronged approach that incorporates radiochemistry topics when related topics in the basic courses are covered, presents special topics of general interest as a vehicle for teaching nuclear and radiochemistry alongside traditional chemistry, and incorporates the use of non-licensed amounts of radioactive substances in demonstrations and student laboratory experiments. This approach seeks not only to reestablish nuclear science in the chemistry curriculum, but to use it as a tool for elucidating fundamental and applied aspects of chemistry as well. Moreover, because of its relevance in many academic areas, nuclear science enriches the chemistry curriculum by encouraging interdisciplinary thinking and problem solving.     

A web-based course in nuclear and radiochemistry

Over the last six years through a Department of Energy Radiochemistry Education Award Program (REAP) we have developed a completely web-based course in nuclear and radiochemistry given at the University of Texas at Austin. This course has had nuclear and radiation engineering and chemistry graduate students. While the course also has an extensive laboratory component only the lectures are web based. The lectures begin with a historical introduction of radiochemistry followed by two movies on Madame Curie. This is followed by the usual lectures on radioactivity, fundamental properties, radioactive decay, decay modes, and nuclear reactions. As section on radioactive waste management and nuclear fuel cycle is also presented. Lectures in neutron activation analysis, geo- and cosmochemistry, and plutonium chemistry have also been developed. All lectures are in power point with many animations and a significant number of solved problems. All students are required to make a short oral presentation on some aspect of nuclear and radiochemistry in their research or a chosen topic.     

Training needs for chemists in nuclear medicine research and production

The field Nuclear Medicine has expanded rapidly over the last two decades. Individuals with training in radiochemistry are needed in industry, medical centers and hospitals. Although basic training in organic chemistry, inorganic chemistry, biochemistry or pharmacy are required, radiochemistry knowledge is essential for all of these individuals. Opportunities and training requirements in these areas will be discussed.     

Summer school in nuclear and radiochemistry at Brookhaven National Laboratory

Summary The Living Textbook of Nuclear Chemistry (http://livingtextbook.orst.edu) is a website, which is a collection of supplemental materials for the teaching of nuclear and radiochemistry. It contains audio-video presentations of the history of nuclear chemistry, tutorial lectures by recognized experts on advanced topics in nuclear and radiochemistry, links to data compilations, articles, and monographs, an audio course on radiochemistry, on-line editions of textbooks, training videos, etc. All content has been refereed.     

Teaching nuclear and radiochemistry at undergraduate colleges

A large fraction of the potential graduate students in chemistry come from undergraduate colleges. The exposure of these students to the field of nuclear and radiochemistry is limited by the fact that few professionals actively involved in the field teach at these schools. There is also increasing competition for the limited number of chemistry students by other chemical specializations. Innovative approaches such as a short course to introduce students to nuclear and radiochemistry and some of the needs for undergraduate teaching are discussed.     

XRF estimation of Cd,Hf, Hg,and Gd in uranium solution

A new curriculum in radiochemistry for undergraduate chemistry is described.     

Survey of the teaching and applications in radiochemistry in Latin American countries

Summary Missouri University, a recipient of a U.S. Department of Energy Radiochemistry Education Award Program (REAP) grant in 1999, has significantly expanded its education and research mission in radiochemistry. While MU had a viable radiochemistry program through existing faculty expertise and the utilization of the Missouri University Research Reactor, the REAP award allowed MU to leverage its resources in significantly expanding capabilities in radiochemistry. Specifically, the grant enabled the: (1) hiring of a new faculty member in actinide radiochemistry (Dr. Paul Duval); (2) support of six graduate students in radiochemistry; (3) purchase of new radiochemistry laboratory equipment; (4) more extensive collaboration with DOE scientists through interactions with faculty and graduate students, and (5) revised radiochemical curriculum (joint courses across disciplines and new courses in actinide chemistry). The most significant impact of this award has been in encouraging interdisciplinary education and research. The proposal was initiated by a joint effort between Nuclear Engineering and Chemistry, but also included faculty in biochemistry, radiology, and molecular biology. Specific outcomes of the REAP grant thus far are: (1) increased educational and research capabilities in actinide chemistry (faculty hire and equipment acquisition); (2) increased integration of biochemistry and radiochemistry (e.g., radiochemical analysis of uranium speciation in biological systems); (3) stronger interdisciplinary integration of molecular biology and radiochemical sciences (alpha-emitters for treating cancer); (4) new and more extensive interactions with national laboratory facilities (e.g., student internships at LANL and LLBL, faculty and lab scientist exchange visits, analytical measurements and collaboration with the Advanced Photon Source), and (7) new research funding opportunities based on REAP partnership.     

Radioanalytical chemistry for nuclear forensics in China: Progress and future perspective

A relatively new branch of science - nuclear forensics, aiming at providing the nature, origin, history and possible trafficking route of seized nuclear materials/devices, has been established and rapidly developed over decades to screen illicit nuclear activities. This highly interdisciplinary science is built upon a foundation of analytical chemistry, radiochemistry, nuclear physics, material sciences, geology, and other scientific disciplines, within which radiochemical methodologies and radioanalytical techniques play a key role. The present review provides a brief overview about the crucial aspects of nuclear forensics, including basic content, procedure, concerned elements, common separation, analytical method, and so on. The state of the art and recent progresses of nuclear forensics by research communities in China are reviewed, while selected examples and practical applications are emphasized. The challenges associated with this new area and on-going developments are highlighted and discussed.     

Incorporating nuclear chemistry as an education tool in the undergraduate chemistry curriculum: A description of the curriculum project

Although many areas of major national need depend critically on professionals trained in nuclear and radiochemistry, educational opportunities and student interest in this area have declined steadily for the last twenty years. One major contributing factor to the lack of student interest is that most students in science and chemistry courses are never introduced to these topics. This deficiency in science curricula, coupled with the negative public perception towards all things “nuclear”, has resulted in a serious shortage of individuals with a background in this area. We propose to address this problem by “educating the educators” — providing faculty from two- and four-year colleges and high school science teachers with the curriculum materials, training, and motivation to incorporate these topics on a continuing basis in their curricula. Two advantages of this approach are: (1) it will generate scientists with a basic understanding of this field and (2) as teachers incorporate nuclear topics, many students will have the opportunity to reflect on the role of science in a technological society.     

Radiochemistry and actinide chemistry

The paper deals with radiochemistry of tracer amounts of radionucli des with N=1 to 100 or several hundreds of species/cm³.     

Analytical chemistry: An economic view?

The quality of information obtained in a chemical analysis should be weighed against the cost of obtaining it. The principles of economics may therefore be applied to analytical chemistry in order to evaluate analytical programmes in terms of costs and benefits.     

The Living Textbook of Nuclear Chemistry

Summary A Summer School in Nuclear Chemistry sponsored by the U. S. Department of Energy and the American Chemical Society has been held at San José State University for the past 20 years. The intent of the program is to introduce outstanding college students to the field of nuclear and radiochemistry with the goal that some of these students will consider careers on nuclear science. The program features radiochemistry experiments along with radiation safety training, guest lectures by well known nuclear scientists and field trips to nuclear chemistry facilities in the San Francisco area.     

Markers in analytical chemistry

The growing use of markers in analytical literature in the 10 years, 1991-2000, is presented and discussed because of their relevance in modern analytical chemistry. The complementary and contradictory aspects of markers and others related words, such as tracer, indicator, index, labelling compound, etc., are clarified. To offer a general overview, several classifications of markers are outlined. The main distinction between markers is their internal or external fitness for purpose. Selected examples are assessed on this basis.     

A century of radiochemistry: Its growth and development as a unique scientific discipline

In recognition of the 1997 anniversary of the first century of radiochemistry, a review is made of its unique contribution to the emergence of nuclear science, its development from the use of very basic chemical techniques initially to a battery of more sophisticated procedures, and its changing role as it has become widely applied in many fields of science. Synergistically, these fields have been able to develop with the aid of radiochemistry while at the same time, radiochemical methods developed to meet the demands of such applications. Among these, during the second half of the century, has been radiochemistry applied to quantitative chemical analysis: RAA or, nuclear analytical chemistry, and typical examples of its use in the authors' laboratory are described, including some recent INAA results on development of novel ‘activable’ tracer coding for forensic use with specialized and high security materials. The specific contributions, during the century, of Japanese pioneers in radiochemistry are also cited.     

核化学与放射化学的研究进展

在我国核能快速发展的新形势下,新型核能资源的开发、乏燃料后处理、放射性废物处理与处置等核燃料循环化学研究日益活跃。随着科学技术的不断发展,离子加速器、反应堆、各种类型的探测器和分析设备、以及计算机技术等的发展,核化学与放射化学研究的范围和成果在不断扩展和增加,如核安全、环境放射化学、放射分析化学、放射性药物与标记化合物等,研究成果对于国防建设、核能发展、核技术应用等方面具有重要支撑作用。本文综述了近年来国内在上述领域所取得的研究进展。共引用参考文献161篇。     

Investigation of gravity lanthanide separation chemistry

Lanthanides are common fission products and the ability to separate and quantify these elements is critical to rapid radiochemistry applications. Published lanthanide separations using Eichrom Ln Spec resin utilize an HCl gradient. Here it is shown that the efficacy and resolution of the separation is improved when a nitric acid gradient is used instead. The described method allows parallel processing of many samples in 1.5 h followed by 60 min counting for quantification of 9 radioisotopes of 7 lanthanide elements.     

Radiochemical approaches to fullerene chemistry

Nuclear and radiochemistry offers special and attractive possibilities for exploring the fascinating world of closed-shell carbon cages called fullerenes. This review presents a panoramic view on the use of radioactivity, nuclear irradiation and instrumental nuclear techniques in the elucidation of the structure and composition of fullerenes and their compounds.     

Hot Atom Chemistry: Its Classical Studies and Modern Variations

Hot atom chemistry in the past and at present is reviewed, and its future direction is considered. Though it has still important meanings in nuclear and radiochemistry studies, new ideas to improve the present situation are expected to emerge.