Title: Plutonium | Pu (Element) - PubChem
Headings: Plutonium
Plutonium
Pu
Contents
1 Identifiers
1.1 Element Name
1.2 Element Symbol
1.3 InChI
1.4 InChI Key
2 Properties
2.1 Atomic Weight
2.2 Electron Configuration
2.3 Atomic Radius
Van der Waals Atomic Radius
Empirical Atomic Radius
Covalent Atomic Radius
2.4 Oxidation States
2.5 Ground Level
2.6 Ionization Energy
2.7 Electronegativity
Pauling Scale Electronegativity
2.8 Atomic Spectra
Lines Holdings
Levels Holdings
2.9 Physical Description
2.10 Element Classification
2.11 Element Period Number
2.12 Element Group Number
2.13 Density
2.14 Melting Point
913 K (640°C or 1184°F)
2.15 Boiling Point
2.16 Estimated Crustal Abundance
2.17 Estimated Oceanic Abundance
3 History
4 Description
5 Uses
6 Production
7 Compounds
See more information at the Plutonium compound page.
7.1 Element Forms
8 Isotopes
Stable Isotope Count
238 U (n, gamma) → 239 U (beta) → 239 Np (beta) → 239 Pu
8.1 Atomic Mass, Half Life, and Decay
9 Information Sources
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Content: Later, during the Cold-War era, large stockpiles of weapons-grade plutonium were built up by both the Soviet Union and the United States. Each year about 20 tons of plutonium is still produced as a by-product of the nuclear power industry. As of 2007 it was estimated that the plutonium stockpile was about 500 tons, world-wide. Since the end of the Cold War these stockpiles have become a focus of nuclear proliferation concerns. In 2000, the United States and the Russian Federation mutually agreed to each dispose of 34 tons of weapon grade plutonium before the end of 2019 by converting it to a mixed uranium-plutonium oxide (MOX) fuel to be used in commercial nuclear power reactors. Today plutonium-239 remains an important component of nuclear weapons, and the United States maintains plutonium-related capabilities in support of national defense and global nuclear deterrence. Pu-239 for civilian nuclear power plants provides energy for many nations. Plutonium-238 continues to be vital to space exploration pushing the limits beyond which manned space exploration is possible and satisfying our quest for knowledge. Los Alamos National Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy
4 Description
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Plutonium is unique among the elements in its physicochemical complexities by virtue of its position at a transitional location in the periodic table where the 5f electrons are at the border between delocalized (not associated with a single atom) and localized (associated with a single atom) b