First stable solid pentavalent plutonium compound stumbled upon by chance
Never-before-seen form of plutonium could shake up models of how radioactive contaminants disperse in the environment
‘We thought something had gone really wrong,’ says Kristina Kvashnina describing the first time she saw the strange yellow solid that turned out to be a new form of plutonium. The solid is the first stable compound containing pentavalent plutonium, or plutonium in the oxidation state +5. The discovery could change how scientists predict the spread of radioactive contaminants in the environment.