The Inorganic Chemist’s Guide to Actinide Radiation Chemistry: A Review

Abstract

This review aims to provide an overview of the current state of ionizing radiation chemistry with respect to the actinide elements, thorium through californium. Despite the inherent radioactivity of the actinides, only a few studies explore the effects of ionizing radiation on their redox chemistry and surrounding environment. This fundamental knowledge gap, coupled with the current renaissance in actinide-based technologies such as nuclear power, space exploration, and medicine, underscores the importance of research in this interdisciplinary area. This review will focus on the interactions between reactive species formed by radiolysis with actinides and their complexes, offering an inorganic chemist’s perspective on research in radiation chemistry. In addition, a thorough discussion of our current understanding of radiation-induced changes in actinide speciation in both aqueous solution and the solid-state will be provided, focusing on changes in oxidation state distribution, complexation, and secondary coordination effects within inorganic materials. Finally, this review will discuss challenges and opportunities for inorganic chemists to explore this unique intersection of fields.

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Article information

Article type
Review Article
Submitted
17 Apr 2025
Accepted
08 Jul 2025
First published
10 Jul 2025
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

Inorg. Chem. Front., 2025, Accepted Manuscript

The Inorganic Chemist’s Guide to Actinide Radiation Chemistry: A Review

T. Forbes, S. Kruse, S. K. Scherrer, G. P. Holmbeck and J. A. Laverne, Inorg. Chem. Front., 2025, Accepted Manuscript , DOI: 10.1039/D5QI00975H

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