Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • NEWS AND VIEWS

Promethium bound: fundamental chemistry of an elusive element finally observed

The chemistry of promethium, a rare radioactive element, has been clouded in mystery, owing to its scarcity and the difficulties involved in working with it. The synthesis of a complex of promethium plugs this knowledge gap.
  1. Kristina O. Kvashnina

    1. Kristina O. Kvashnina is at the Institute of Resource Ecology, Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Dresden 01328, Germany.

    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed  Google Scholar

In ancient Greek mythology, the Titan Prometheus was bound to a rock as punishment for stealing fire from the gods and giving it to humans. The rare radioactive element promethium was named after him but, unlike its namesake, the element has been extremely difficult to capture — in a chemical sense, that is. Writing in Nature, Driscoll et al.1 report the synthesis of a complex in which a promethium ion is bound by a newly developed organic ligand molecule. The characterization of this complex in solution not only provides fundamental knowledge of the chemistry and physical properties of promethium and its compounds, but also enables the first experimental comparison of a complete set of complexes for the lanthanide series — the family of elements to which promethium belongs.

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Learn more

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Nature 629, 765-766 (2024)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-024-01193-3

References

  1. Driscoll, D. M. et al. Nature 629, 819–823 (2024).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Brauner, B. Nature 118, 84–85 (1926).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Marinsky, J. A., Glendenin, L. E. & Coryell, C. D. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 69, 2781–2785 (1947).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Kistiakowsky, V. Phys. Rev. 87, 859–860 (1952).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Butement, F. D. S. Nature 167, 400 (1951).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Bruno, M. & Croatto, U. Nature 183, 601 (1959).

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Competing Interests

The author declares no competing interests.

Subjects

Latest on:

Nature Careers

Jobs

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing

Search

Advanced search

Quick links