Marie Curie doubt, the Curies sought to isolate polonium and radium in pure form. Pitchblende is a complex mineral; the chemical separation of its constituents was an arduous task. The discovery of polonium had been relatively easy; chemically it resembles the element bismuth, and polonium was the only bismuth-like substance in the ore. Radium, however, was more elusive; it is closely related chemically to barium, and pitchblende contains both elements. By 1898 the Curies had obtained traces of radium, but appreciable quantities, uncontaminated with barium, were still beyond reach. The Curies undertook the arduous task of separating out radium salt by differential
Polonium room temperature. Tetrahalides can be obtained by reacting polonium dioxide with HCl, HBr or HI. Other polonium compounds include potassium polonite as a polonite, polonate, acetate, bromate, carbonate, citrate, chromate, cyanide, formate, (II) and (IV) hydroxides, nitrate, selenate, selenite, monosulfide, sulfate, disulfate and sulfite. Oxides Hydrides Halides Polonium has 33 known isotopes, all of which are radioactive. They have atomic masses that range from 188 to 220 u. Po (half-life 138.376 days) is the most widely available and is made via neutron capture by natural bismuth. The longer-lived Po (half-life years, longest-lived of all polonium isotopes) and Po (half-life 2.9