102 No 2+ as a soft metal ion: Extraction of 255 No using crown ethers

The chemical properties of transfermium elements with atomic numbers >100 are largely unknown. Element 102, nobelium, is an actinide and forms stable +2 valent cations in aqueous solutions, unlike other heavy actinide. In previous experiments, No 2+ exhibits similar behavior to alkaline earth metal ions, particularly Ca 2+ and Sr 2+ , suggesting hard-acid character. In this study, the soft metal ion behavior of No 2+ was demonstrated through complex with crown ethers. In the solid–liquid extraction of 255 No using di- t Bu-dicyclohexano-18-crown-6 in HNO 3 , No 2+ was extracted as much as Sr 2+ . Density functional theory calculations confirmed higher stability of the No 2+ –DtBuCH18C6 complex, with covalent bonding involving the 6 d orbitals. Theoretical studies also revealed strong relativistic effects on the atomic orbitals of No 2+ , rendering No 2+ a soft ion similar to Pb 2+ .

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Publication Details

Journal
Science Advances
Published
2026-09-30
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aeh4903
Primary Topic
Radioactive element chemistry and processing
Type
article
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article

102 No 2+ as a soft metal ion: Extraction of 255 No using crown ethers

Y. Kasamatsu, Eisuke Watanabe, R. Masuda, Yudai Itakura et al.
Science Advances
Radioactive element chemistry and processing
article

102 No 2+ as a soft metal ion: Extraction of 255 No using crown ethers

Y. Kasamatsu, Eisuke Watanabe, R. Masuda, Yudai Itakura, Hiromitsu Haba, Koichi Takamiya, Masashi Kaneko, Xiaojie Yin, Takuya Yokokita, Akihiro Nambu, Yudai Shigekawa, Ryohei Nakanishi, Kyosuke Shibamoto, Ruilin Wang, Saki Otaka, Atsushi Shinohara
article en

Abstract

The chemical properties of transfermium elements with atomic numbers >100 are largely unknown. Element 102, nobelium, is an actinide and forms stable +2 valent cations in aqueous solutions, unlike other heavy actinide. In previous experiments, No 2+ exhibits similar behavior to alkaline earth metal ions, particularly Ca 2+ and Sr 2+ , suggesting hard-acid character. In this study, the soft metal ion behavior of No 2+ was demonstrated through complex with crown ethers. In the solid–liquid extraction of 255 No using di- t Bu-dicyclohexano-18-crown-6 in HNO 3 , No 2+ was extracted as much as Sr 2+ . Density functional theory calculations confirmed higher stability of the No 2+ –DtBuCH18C6 complex, with covalent bonding involving the 6 d orbitals. Theoretical studies also revealed strong relativistic effects on the atomic orbitals of No 2+ , rendering No 2+ a soft ion similar to Pb 2+ .

Science AdvancesVol. 12(40)
High Energy Accelerator Research Organization (JP), Tohoku University (JP), Osaka Aoyama University (JP), Toneyama National Hospital (JP), Museum of Japanese Art Yamato Bunkakan (JP), RIKEN Nishina Center (JP), The University of Osaka (JP)
Openalex Percentile: Top 27%
Radioactive element chemistry and processing
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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102 No 2+ as a soft metal ion: Extraction of 255 No using crown ethers — Y. Kasamatsu, Eisuke Watanabe, et al. · Science Advances (2026) | TGRS Research Map | TGRS