Solving the Hydration Structure of the Heaviest Actinide Aqua Ion Known: The Californium(III) Case

Abstract

Wish they all could be californium: X-ray absorption spectroscopy (black points) and Monte Carlo simulations (blue line) of CfIII in aqueous solutions have been combined to determine the ligand distance and coordination number (CN) of the CfIII aqua ion (see picture), the heaviest cation measured and simulated to date. The results confirm that a contraction takes place in the actinide series as in the lanthanide series.