Plutonium and Plutonium Compounds

AbstractThe discovery of plutonium, its economic and military importance, sources, production, and nuclear properties are reviewed. The economic aspects of weapons‐grade and reactor‐grade plutonium are outlined. The preparation and properties of plutonium metal are discussed in detail. A presentation of the physical and chemical properties of atomic plutonium and stable plutonium ions is given. The complexation and hydrolysis properties of these ions are recapitulated. Analytical chemistry, separations technology, and metallurgy (including pyrometallurgical processing) are described. There is a brief treatment of storage and disposal of excess weapons plutonium. The chemistry of several classes of plutonium compounds is described: oxides, halides, oxyhalides, hydrides, carbides, silicides, nitrides, sulfides, and oxalates. The chapter concludes with a treatment of environmental, health, and safety aspects of plutonium. Vol. 19, pp. 407–443, 197 refs. through September 1, 1995.