Project description
Getting a closer look at ephemeral and enigmatic actinides
Prior to World War II, most of the actinide series elements were unknown. By the 1960s, scientists had synthetically 'created' all 15, from actinium to lawrencium. Every actinide isotope is radioactive and quite rare, so characterising their properties has been no easy task. The resurgence in interest in nuclear energy to help mitigate greenhouse gas emissions has been largely responsible for a renaissance when it comes to these elements. The EU-funded THE ACTINIDE BOND project will apply state-of-the-art experimental and computational methods to enhance our understanding of actinide bonding in the gas, liquid and solid state. The project will not only support actinide chemistry but also advance quantum chemical theoretical methods.
Objective
Understanding the electronic structure and chemical bonding properties of the early actinide (An) elements (Th-Cm) poses a great challenge and frontier in fundamental chemistry and physics. I aim to clarify the link between covalency and strength of the chemical bond of the early An elements from Th to Cm in gas, liquid and solid state materials - combining innovative high challenge experimental setups, advanced synchrotron based spectroscopy methods and state-of-the-art quantum chemical computations. In-situ structural studies of radioactive/radiotoxic gaseous and liquid An materials, combining soft and hard X-ray scattering and absorption methods (RIXS/HR-XANES) to probe An metal centres and their ligands, have not yet been performed at any synchrotron light source in the world. The RIXS and HR-XANES methods probe the occupied and unoccupied parts of the valence band with extraordinary energy resolution and, when combined for the metal and the ligand, unique information on the chemical bond can be obtained. I will gain a deep understanding of the An bond formation mechanisms and will develop spectroscopy methodologies with high potential for a breakthrough in efforts, e.g. to select ligands and An materials with specific characteristics. Ligands and materials with tailored properties are needed for separation of An elements from chemically similar lanthanides or for developing advanced pharmaceutical compounds for targeted cancer treatment. A deep insight into the An electronic structures is also essential for developing innovative spent nuclear fuel matrices and to understand actinide environmental behaviour e.g. in contaminated sites. The new spectroscopy approaches are also expected to boost the advances of quantum chemical theoretical methods. Those are most challenged by the An atoms due to their large number of valence electrons and prevailing influence of relativistic effects in their electronic structure behaviour.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
This project's classification has been validated by the project's team.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
This project's classification has been validated by the project's team.
Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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H2020-EU.1.1. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
ERC-COG - Consolidator Grant
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2020-COG
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
76131 Karlsruhe
Germany
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.