Polonium: Organometallic Chemistry

Abstract The organometallic chemistry of polonium has received limited research effort. The element is very rare, and all of its isotopes are radioactive. Radioactivity causes rupture of the bonds between carbon and polonium. Also, because polonium is a heavy metal, chemical bonding to carbon is thermodynamically very weak. It is rare for an organometallic compound of polonium to be isolated in weighable quantities and characterized using the conventional techniques of organic chemistry. The identification of organopolonium compounds relies largely on chromatographic behavior and on the use of tellurium compounds having analogous chemical structures as reference compounds.