ISSN 2056-6735 (Online)

Graphene—Friend or Foe?
Minor metals in nuclear medicine
Chemical registration in the US—TSCA reauthorization

The magazine of the Minor Metals Trade Association

9th Edition 2016/October www.mmta.co.uk

1

THE MMTA’S INTERNATIONAL MINOR METALS CONFERENCE 2017
TAKING PLACE AT THE CONRAD HOTEL, DUBLIN, IRELAND, 24-26 APRIL 2017
Organised by Metal Events Ltd
The 2016 conference was our biggest yet.
Make sure you are part of the industry's premier event for the minor metals sector
with new enhanced MMTA Member Conference Rates for 2017

Be sure to take advantage of the current excellent early-bird rates:
MMTA Members will pay the exceptional rate of £600 (+ VAT where applicable) for all registrations
received by 28th October 2016
The current fee for Non-Members is £950 (+ VAT where applicable) for all registrations
received by 11th January 2017
Non-Members have time to benefit from excellent Member rates by applying for MMTA membership now.
To find out more, contact admin@mmta.co.uk
To register for the conference or for more information please visit www.metalevents.com or
www.mmta.co.uk/conference, or alternatively email sales@metalevents.com

MMTA Conference Golf Tournament, hosted by ICD Alloys & Metals LLC

For our first golf tournament, taking place on Monday 24th April before the start of the conference, we will be at
the prestigious K Club, previous venue of the Ryder Cup.
The tournament fee of EUR150 (+ VAT) will include transport by coach from and back to the conference hotel,
breakfast on arrival, 18 holes of golf, electric buggy, and lunch
Registered conference delegates wishing to join this event, should contact admin@mmta.co.uk
2

Speakers for 2017 include:

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

The MMTA’s Popular Science Talk: Laurence Knight, Producer, BBC World Service, andAndrea Sella, Professor of Inorganic Chemistry, University College London, will take a tour
around some of the amazing minor metals elements that make up our industry. The BBC WorldMMTA News & Events

2-4

Graphene—Friend or Foe?

6

elements, the basic building blocks of the universe. Where do we get them, what do we use

TSCA Reauthorization

9them for and how do they fit into our economy?

Minor Metals in Nuclear Medicine

10

Was Napoleon Killed by
Wallpaper?

12

Artificial Leaf Solar Energy

13

Lutetium in New Generation
Computing Devices

14“An update on specialty and stainless markets”, by Markus Moll, Managing Director, SMR
GmbH, Austria;

Silicon or Silicone?

15

Service has just completed its Elements programme, which took a close look at chemical“Developments in aero-engines and material choice”, by Bill Reid, Strategic Sourcing
Manager: airfoil castings, forgings and mill products, Pratt & Whitney, USA;
“Delivering a conflict-free supply chain”, by Carolyn Duran, Director, Global Supply
Management, Intel Corp, USA;

“Coatings for gas turbine blades”, by Dr Lisa O’Donoghue, University of Limerick, Ireland;“Tomtor — an alternative source of supply for scandium and niobium”, by Alexander Malakh,
Chairman of the Board, TriArc Mining Ltd;
“Energy storage and its applications”, by Professor Peter Hall, Chair in Chemical
Engineering, The University of Sheffield, UK;“Lithium and cobalt supply requirements for batteries”, by Simon Moores, Managing Director,
Benchmark Minerals Ltd, UK;“Future applications for minor metals: Bi, In, Se, Ge & Ga”, by Dominic Boyle, PPM Pure Metals

The MMTA promotes
essential elements that add
quality, safety andenjoyment to our lives.
The MMTA is the world's
leading minor metals industry
organisation.

GmbH, Germany;

Programme Timings:
Monday 24 April
09:00 Golf Tournament at the K Club – Sponsored by ICD Alloys & Metals Inc
17:00 Registration at The Conrad
18:00-20:00 – Welcome reception for all attendees
Tuesday 25 April
08:45 Registration & Coffee
Welcome remarks
Session 1: 09:00-11:00
11:00-12:00 Coffee
Session 2: 12:00-13:30
13:30-14:15 Luncheon
14:30 MMTA’s AGM
Wednesday April 26
Session 3: 09:30-10:45
10:45-11:40 Coffee
Session 5: 11:40-13:00
13:00-14:30 Luncheon and close of conference

Contact Us:
Address: MMTA, Suite 53, 3 Whitehall Court,
London, SW1A 2EL, UK
Tel: +44 (0)207 833 0237
Email: executive@mmta.co.uk

Disclaimer: The information and data contained inthis edition of the Crucible (the Material) has been
compiled by the Minor Metals Trade Association (MMTA)
from sources believed to be reliable at the time of writing
but the MMTA makes no representation or warranty(express or implied) as to the accuracy, timeliness orcompleteness of the Material. The Material is provided for
information purposes only, but is not to be relied upon as
authoritative or taken in substitution for the exercise of thereader’s own skill and judgment. It should not be relied
upon for any specific or general application without firstobtaining competent advice. The MMTA, its members, staff
and consultants accept no liability whatsoever (howeverthat liability arises) for any direct, indirect or consequential
loss arising from any use of the Material.
The Crucible contains links to third party websites andmaterial and information created and maintained byorganisations other than the MMTA. These links areprovided solely for your convenience. The MMTA does notguarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness, orcompleteness of any third party information or material
accessed by means of a link within the Crucible. The
inclusion of a link is not intended to reflect the importanceof the third party materials accessed through it, nor is it
intended to endorse any views expressed, accuracy ofmaterial, products or services offered or other information
made available via the link.

3

UPCOMING MMTA EVENTSMMTA Christmas Lunch,
15th December, London

BOOKINGS WILL CLOSE SOON
The MMTA’s 43rd Anniversary Dinner
Tuesday, 1st November, 2016
Lord’s Cricket Ground, London£105 MMTA Members and their guests/£150 Non-Members/Optional tour £12 (+ VAT)
To Book online, go to www.mmta.co.uk/events

This year’s event at Ironmongers’
Hall will begin with networking
drinks and carols, and is followed
by a festive 4-course lunch
including wine. It will be— asalways—a great way to end theyear with industry colleagues andfriends.

Alternatively, email admin@mmta.co.uk if you prefer to receive an invoice.

MMTA New York Dinner,
19th January, 2017, New YorkThe Drinks Reception is kindly hosted by Alex Stewart International

This year we will be returning to theCornell Club for networking drinks& canapes, followed by a topicalspeaker and a 3-course meal.

The Main Dinner is kindly hosted by RC Inspection Ltd

To register your interest in either ofthese events, please contact
admin@mmta.co.uk

NEW MMTA MEMBER COMPANY — TUNGCO INC.
Our Mission:
We made the decision many years ago to centralize our focus on Tungsten and the alloys that are part of its family. Our mission is to be
the “Tungsten Specialists” of the metals industry, and we continually strive for this through our family of companies that center aroundthe versatile uses and applications of Tungsten & its familial alloys.
Our oldest and largest division, Tungco, specializes in tungsten carbide hard scraps, including but not limited to tungsten carbide drills,
tungsten carbide inserts, tungsten carbide wear parts and tungsten carbide mining compacts. Tungco’s competitive edge comes fromover 40 years of experience with tungsten carbide scraps and unrivaled customer & supplier relations.
Tungco Powder Procurement (TPP) began in 2009 and specializes in tungsten carbide sludge, also known as tungsten carbide swarf ortungsten carbide soft scrap.
The newest addition, 74Alloys, was created to specialize in all other types of tungsten alloys and any other alloys that would be foundwithin or near the Tungsten family.
We are leading the industry in the secondary raw materials market, offering customers exactly what they are looking for on a consistentbasis. We pride ourselves on doing whatever it takes to make each client happy.

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Email: gchilcutt@tungco.com

4

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5

Graphene: Friend or Foe?

Photo Credit: Factor-Tech Magazine
Graphene: Image Source: MPFIZ/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

By Tom Butcher, Independent Consultant

Introduction

It is 200 times stronger than steel;

Graphene has been around now for some 12 years. For those in theminor metals industry, should it be seen as a friend or a foe – asubstitute or complementary? This short piece will look atgraphene: what it is and just some of what it does. And how it may
be regarded by those involved in minor metals.



It is immensely tough, but ultra-light;

It is incredibly flexible and can be stretched;It is the world’s thinnest material – one million times thinnerthan a human hair;It is transparent;

It can act as a perfect barrier – it is impermeable even to
helium; and,

It is a superb conductor (indeed, the world’s most conductive).

What is Graphene?
First isolated in 2004 by two professors, Andre Geim and Kostya
Novoselov, from the University of Manchester in England, grapheneis the first two-dimensional material known to man. (For thisachievement the two of them were, deservedly, awarded the Nobel
Prize for Physics in 2010.)
In stark contrast to most materials that are made up of a 3D
structure of atoms, graphene consists of just a single, 2D, layer ofcarbon atoms that forms a honeycomb (hexagonal lattice)
structure. The graphite, used, for example, in pencils, is made outof millions of layers of graphene.

Some Amazing Properties
As a consequence, graphene displays some truly amazing
characteristics, many of them seemingly contradictory orparadoxical:
6

And as research into the material continues, the list above will soon
probably only constitute a small sub-set of the advantages it offers.

Three Applications
One of the most interesting areas of potential use for graphene is inelectronics. A number of uses have already been identified and areunder development. Here are three:
Touch Screens
Exploiting graphene’s properties of being transparent, tough,flexible, and a stunning conductor, it should be possible to produce
touch screens that are not only flexible (and perhaps foldable), butalso thin and strong – physical electronic newspapers, anyone?

As such, graphene may soon start to give indium (in ITO) a run for
its money; whilst ITO may be a good conductor, it remains brittle.
At the end of 2015, researchers at GRAFOL (a European projectaiming at roll-to-roll production of graphene films on siliconwafers) announced that they had been able to demonstrate acost-effective production tool that could make large sheets ofgraphene on an industrial scale. They believe that graphene could
substitute for ITO electrodes in OLEDs. They have, in addition,
shown that it may be possible to “integrate graphene in silicon

photonics platforms, as well as flexible thin-film solar cells withtransparent electrodes (like perovskite PVs, for example).”But we certainly shouldn’t be in hurry to give up on ITO in thiscontext. If Chinese researchers at the Ocean University of China
in Qingdao are successful in their research, graphene may, on
occasion, usefully complement, rather than just substitute for, theindium in PV cells. That occasion is when it rains! Observing that thewater in raindrops is not pure, but contains salts that separate into
negative and positive ions, they have been experimenting withadding a layer of graphene to dye-sensitized solar cells and using
it to generate electricity by separating the positively-charged ions.
Initial results have been promising.
And as this wasn’t inventive enough, researchers in the UK havecreated a material based on graphene that has proved very
effective at absorbing both ambient heat and light.
Batteries
Another area in which scientists have great hope for graphene is inbatteries. The current generation of batteries works on the principalof storing energy in controlled chemical reactions. These batteries
are usually named after different chemicals and/or metals you findinside them: Alkaline-manganese, zinc-carbon, nickel metal hydride(NiMH), nickel cadmium (Ni-Cd), silver-zinc (Ag-Zn), nickelhydrogen (NiH2) and lead acid (Pb-acid).

The anodes of lithium batteries currently use 99.99% purity
graphite. It is expensive and its production process is wasteful. It ishere that graphene comes in. Initial research has shown thatanodes made of graphene can hold energy very much better thanthose made of graphite. In addition, it appears that charge time canbe shortened significantly, perhaps to one tenth of the time ittakes to charge a traditional lithium-ion battery. Add to this better
longevity, and theprospect for major
performance
improvements looks
quite exciting.

Image Source:Intercalactionrp.png:
Antonderivative work:
Mattman723 (talk) Intercalactionrp.png, CC
BY-SA 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/
w/index.php?
curid=6861474

Rather than with a traditional graphite anode where lithium ionsaccumulate around its outer surface, with a graphene anode, thelithium ions can pass through the graphene sheets. This leads toboth easy extraction and an optimal storage area.
It appears, too, that performance can be improved even further
with the addition of vanadium oxide to the cathode, withexperimental batteries so adapted recharging in 20 seconds and,even after 1,000 cycles, retaining 90% capacity.
Finally, researchers are also looking at the use of graphene insupercapacitors. As mentioned above, the current generation oflithium-ion, and, indeed, other traditional batteries, store energy bymeans of a controlled chemical, or electrochemical, reaction.
Capacitors store energy by means of a static charge. They arecharged by applying a voltage differential between their positive
and negative plates.

And then, of course, there are the many different lithium-based
batteries, some of which, apart from lithium itself, also containdifferent minor metals. These include: lithium iron disulfide (LiFeS2), lithium-thionyl chloride (LiSOCl2 or LTC), lithium sulfur
dioxide (LiSO2), lithium manganese oxide LiMn2O4 or LMO) amongst
Supercapacitors or EDLCs (electric double-layer capacitors), as theothers. And those that contain more minor metals: Lithium cobalt
name suggests, have very high capacitance, or ability to store aoxide – LiCoC2 (LCO), lithium nickel manganese – LiNiMnCoO2 (NMC),
great deal of energy. Because of the relatively greater surface arealithium iron phosphate – LiFePo4 (LFP), lithium nickel cobalt
it can offer, graphene is already being used as a substitute for thealuminium oxide – LiNiCoAlO2 (NCA), and lithium titanate –activated carbon that is currently used in supercapacitors. This
Li2TiO3 (LTO).
higher surface area leads not only to considerable improvements in
Much of the competition in the battery world currently revolves
charge storage, but also, because it is so light, it could lead toaround which of the lithium technologies is going to prevail in thesignificant reductions in weight – useful in both airplanes andworld of electric vehicles. Will it be the cheapest, “pouch cell”,
automobiles. And because graphene is so resilient, supercapacitors’
longevity could also see huge improvements.
battery – LFP? Or the cylindrical battery – NCA – the mostexpensive? Or the cylindrical NMC battery?
So in the context of both batteries and supercapacitors, graphene
Whilst it is probably not safe yet to open a book on the winner inshould, perhaps, not be seen as a foe, but a friend offering a helping
the battle of the batteries, it is safe to say that for whoever wins,
hand in making improvements.
Continues overgraphene could help increase battery lifespan significantly.
7

Semiconductors
With both its conductivity and thinness, graphene is an ideal
candidate to become a semiconductor. Unfortunately, it normallylacks a bandgap, a sine qua non of semiconductors. However,various ways are already being devised to introduce one. It is,variously, being doped, fabricated in the shape of ribbons, grown incertain ways with certain other materials, and having its “wrinkles”
manipulated through “graphene engineering”. If any one or all ofthese proves successful, we could find ourselves using graphene
semiconductors. It appears that graphene chips have already been
proven to be much faster than silicon ones.

Conclusion
Whilst it is still early days, the potential of graphene in so many
applications is already becoming evident. But it is going to take along time to nurture, grow and realize that potential, turning visions
for its use into reality. Much of what it appears it is currently being
made to do is improve upon technology that we already have, forexample, being used to improve radically the performance ofbatteries and capacitors. I have seen little about it replacing, out andout, other materials and, in particular, individual minor metals:
lithium batteries look set to be using lithium for some time yet.
We should, therefore, treat it, for the time being anyway, very muchas a friend. Yes, it may, at some stage, become a foe, but probably
only in certain applications. If we think of just how new (relatively)

some of the most significant uses (for example, LEDs) are for someminor metals, in contrast graphene really is only in its infancy.
And then, as always, there are bound to be instances where uses
will be found for a minor metal that will still further enhance
performance already improved by graphene. You only have to lookat the use of vanadium in cathodes mentioned above for an
example.
So, on the whole, I think we should answer Friend, not Foe.

Sources:
Graphenea: Graphene mass production, roll to roll, http://www.graphenea.com/
blogs/graphene-news/8017795-graphene-mass-production-roll-to-rollGraphene-Info: European researchers reach graphene production breakthrough,under project GRAFOL, http://www.graphene-info.com/european-researchersreach-graphene-production-breakthrough-under-project-grafol
Ibid.
Science alert: Scientists are developing graphene solar panels that generate energy
when it rains, http://www.sciencealert.com/how-graphene-could-help-solarpanels-produce-energy-when-it-s-raining
Ibid and Science alert: This nanometre-thick graphene film is the most lightabsorbent material ever created, http://www.sciencealert.com/this-nanometrethick-graphene-film-is-the-most-light-absorbent-material-ever-createdBatteryuniversity.com: BU-309: How does Graphite Work in Li-ion?, http://
batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/bu_309_graphite
Ibid.
PhysOrg: Manipulating wrinkles could lead to graphene semiconductors,
http://phys.org/news/2015-10-wrinkles-graphene-semiconductors.html
The University of Manchester: The Home of Graphene – Electronics, http://
www.graphene.manchester.ac.uk/explore/the-applications/electronics/

In Brief
BMW Unveils Plans to Use New & Used Electric Vehicle Batteries for Homes & Businesses
BMW plans to turn new and used electric vehicle batteries into a system that can store energy for homes and businesses.
The product—recently unveiled in Montreal, marks the company’s entry into the energy storage market, following similar moves bycompetitors, Daimler and Tesla.
BMW differentiates itself from its rivals by using an electric vehicle battery, as opposed to companies like Tesla which developed thePowerwall, a battery specifically designed just for commercial and residential use.
Overall, however, BMW’s product has the same goals, namely the storage of energy produced during the day from solar panels and a
backup source of power in the event of failure of the power grid.
As well as using new BMW i3 batteries, the systems can also use electric vehicle batteries that are too old to use in a car, but still haveenough life to be used in other ways. These will be introduced, the company says, as they begin to become available.
According to Fortune magazine, “that could be a while. BMW’s all-electric car has only been produced for a couple of years, with global
sales topping 47,000, according to BMW’s 2015 annual report. The warranty on most electric car batteries, including the BMW i3, iseight years.”
Although details are yet to emerge, BMW’s systems are equipped with car batteries that have 22 or 33-kilowatt-hours of capacity. The
typical U.S. household uses between 15 and 30 kWh of energy daily for appliances and entertainment devices, which means the battery
stores enough energy to meet that household’s needs for a 24-hour period, BMW says. The unit can also be used to charge an electric car.
Specific areas of research have included how to manage the flow of electricity between solar panels, the home and the battery, as well as
optimising the use of stored energy. The company has also undertaken projects in conjunction with academia to explore the use of usedelectric vehicle batteries with a view to creating a separate grid. As electric vehicle use increases, companies are also keen to fully
understand the impact of home charging on the energy grid, so that the cost of owning an electric vehicle can be reduced.
Source: Adapted from Fortune http://fortune.com/2016/06/22/bmw-energy-storage/8

Toxic Substances
Control Act (TSCA)
Reauthorization:
How Will You Explain the
Impact of the New Law toYour CEO?
Chemical registration in the U.S. just got more complicated and expensive.
President Obama recently signed into law the new Frank Lautenberg Chemical Safety Act of 2015 (CSA), which replaces the Toxic
Substances Control Act (TSCA) of 1976. The requirements under this law become in effect immediately.

What does this mean for your company?


Possible business disruption likely due to holds on recently submitted and future pre-manufacturing notifications (PMN) for new
chemicals and reporting significant new uses for existing chemicals (SNURs);

Additional cost due to expensive laboratory animal and environmental testing for existing and new chemicals;

Restrictions on product use if EPA concludes the uses are unsafe;Additional hurdles to retain confidentiality of business information (CBI);

An increase in fines and criminal penalties for non-compliance; and

Other impacts depending on your product portfolio.

What to do now?


Know the law by having your legal department and compliance organization study the new requirements or hire experts that can
explain these changes to you;

Evaluate the impact on your company by comparing the new requirements to your existing TSCA program, evaluating the status of
current and future registrations;Assess the level of hazard and exposure information that is currently in-place for your products and define data gaps; andDevelop an implementation plan to coincide with implementation dates of the new CSA.

Points to consider when explaining these new requirements to company management:

Notify senior management of the new requirements, which can be provided jointly by your legal and compliance departments andthe corporate risk management department…seek help from consultants as needed;

Express the impact in business terms as you know them today, such as factors that will impact time to market, growth and cost ofcompliance; e.g.,- The length of time for registrations under CSA is undetermined and could slow new product launch- The cost of additional testing needs to be rationalized with profitability- Use restrictions would exclude markets- CBI may not be retained as confidentialHighlight the penalties for non-compliance;Provide a high-level plan and path forward; and

Communicate progress regularly.

ERM is the world’s leading sustainability firm with over 60 compliance experts in the U.S. and over 170 compliance experts globally. ERM’s
product stewardship and TSCA experts can assist if you have questions about the new law or need TSCA support, please contact:
John Phillips
Tel: +1 989 859 1835 Email: john.phillips@erm.com

Kate Sellers
Tel: +1 617 646 7809 Email: kate.sellers@erm.com

9Minor Metals
in Nuclear
Medicine
By Dr K. Dessai, Independent Consultant in Metals, Mining and Energy
Minor metals are used in the commonly-known applications ofaerospace, automotive and energy generation, to name a few, andthey have also been extensively utilised in medicine and dentistry. In
biomedical applications for example, titanium is commonly used as
an implant material in dentistry and orthopaedics. A lesswell-known branch of medicine—nuclear medicine—has also beenusing minor metals for a number of decades. In this application, it is
the radioactive properties of minor metals are utilised, in the formof radioisotopes.

Image Source: Oak Ridge National Laboratoryorgans or regions of the body makes the technique a particularly
advantageous treatment.
In nuclear medicine, the use of radioisotopes which emit ionizing
radiation must be carefully measured and managed so as todiagnose or treat only the required areas for a specific period oftime—enough to obtain the necessary information or undertake aparticular treatment. Minimum radiation exposure helps to reduce
any unwanted side effects or damage to other healthy organs andtissue. Any radiation exposure to treatment providers or thegeneral public also needs to be considered and maintained withinsafe limits.

Many chemical elements have a number of isotopes, which havethe same atomic number—representing the number of protons but a different number of neutrons, which results in different
Radioisotopes can also be selected based on their decay properties,
masses. The number of electrons is equal to the number of protons
typically measured using ‘Half-life’. The ‘Half-life’ is the time
for an element in a neutral state, and it is the number of electrons
required for half of the quantity of radioactive isotope to decay, andwhich determines the chemistry of the element or atom.
is measured in minutes (mins), days and years. This means thatthey survive for long enough to effect the treatment, but decay
Radioactive isotopes (or radioisotopes) are atoms which arequickly enough to minimise negative effects from radiation.
generally unstable in nature and must therefore be produced
artificially. The number of neutrons and protons in a radioisotope
Radioisotopes are generally produced in one of two ways: in nuclear
will differ from the same element in its naturally occurring state.
reactors, as the products of the fission process through the addition
For example, strontium has a naturally occurring mass number ofof neutrons, or in cyclotrons, through neutron-depletion by the88, while it also has radioisotopes Sr-82 and Sr-90. Thus thisaddition of protons. The largest proportion of the world’s supply ofdifference in mass number leads to differing physical and chemical
radioisotopes or radionuclides have been produced by two reactors;
properties, which consequently each have differing applications.
one in the Netherlands at the Petten Nuclear Reactor and one in
Canada at Chalk River Laboratories.
A nucleus of a radioisotope is unstable, as it is composed of anundesirable number of neutrons and protons. For this reason, it
will undergo radioactive decay through the emission of an alpha,beta and/or gamma radiation to become a more stable atom.
In nuclear medicine, radioisotopes are used within the body,differing from the traditional uses of radiation in medicine, suchas X-rays, which are generated externally and passed through the
body to form an image.
Radioisotopes are used in two ways in medicine: in diagnostics andin treatment. While a greater proportion are used in diagnosing
illness and disease, their growing uses in the treatment of cancers
are wide-ranging, especially in the form of radiotherapy. This isbecause rapidly dividing cells are extremely sensitive to radiation.
The ability to target the type of radiation (alpha, beta and/or
gamma emissions) from a close proximity to specific cells, tissues,
10Diagnostic radioisotopes are typically those which emit gamma
radiation, which is detected externally by a gamma camera. In thisapplication the radioisotope attached to a carrier is taken internally;
intravenously or orally. An example of this is Technetium-99m, forwhich the parent element is the minor metal Molybdenum-99.
Mo-99 (half-life 66 hours) is one of the essential radioisotopes
required in the production of other species for use in diagnostics.

are utilised to provide a higher energy treatment at close range tothe cancer cells. This type of therapy is used particularly formelanoma, breast and ovarian cancers. Table 1 below summarises
some of the minor metals used in nuclear medicine.

Table 1. Minor metal radioisotopes used in nuclear medicine
Minor metal radioisotopes directly used

It is produced during the fission of Uranium-235 in the Chalk River
reactor by neutron irradiation of the nuclear fuel.

Bismuth-212 &Bismuth-213

Another minor metal, Thallium-201 (half-life 73 hours) is used in
cardiology for diagnosing coronary heart conditions, as well as
detecting the location of low-grade lymphomas. In diagnostic
applications, the radioisotope must have a half-life short enoughfor it to decay away quickly after required imaging has been
completed in order to minimise the radiation dose received by
the patient.

Chromium-51

Cobalt-57 &Cobalt-60
Dysprosium165
Ytterbium-169&
Ytterbium-177

Rhenium-186 &Rhenium-188

Indium-111

Iridium-192

Strontium-89

Samarium-153

Selenium-75

Gallium-67 &Gallium-68

Holmium-166
Thallium-201

Minor metal radioisotopes as parent species

In therapeutic applications, beta emitting radioisotopes are typicallyused which can also have some gamma emission.
These are used to treat a wide range of cancers through weakening
or destroying tumour cells, for example, Yttrium-90 (half-life 64
hours) is used for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and liver cancer.
Holmium-166 (half-life 26 hours) is being developed for the
diagnosis and treatment of liver tumours. There are also othertherapeutic applications of minor metal radioisotopes for example,
in the use of palliative care and pain relief from cancers andarthritis. Rhenium-186 (half-life 3.8 days) provides pain relief forbone cancer, Samarium-153 (half-life 47 hours) for secondary
cancers lodged in bone, and Strontium-89 (half-life 50 days) for
prostate and bone cancer. Erbium-169 (half-life 9.4 days) is used
to provide pain relief from arthritis of synovial joints.

Germanium-68(for Ga-68)

Molybdenum99( for Tc-99m)

Strontium-82(for Rb-82)

The use of minor metals in nuclear medicine as key
radiopharmaceuticals or as parent elements has been wide andvaried, and new applications continue to be developed. With theversatility they offer, in terms of radioactive decay, energy quantity,
half-life and distance, radioisotopes will have a healthy future in
diagnostics and therapy. In particular, their use in the treatment ofcancers will only increase, given the many and varied forms of thedisease, and the need to treat specific areas without damaging
healthy tissue until such time as cures are developed.
To contact the author, Dr K. Desai, email met.min.en@gmail.com

Another application of minor metals in medicine is their use insterilisation of equipment. Traditionally, heating has been used forthis purpose, however, for equipment such as gloves, syringes,
clothing and instruments which would be damaged by this process,Cobalt-60 which is an energetic gamma emitter and has a half-life Sourcesof 5.27 years, is the main radioisotope used.
http://world-nuclear.org/information-library/non-power-nuclear-applications/radioisotopes-research/radioisotopes-inA newer area of radioisotope application is in targeted alphamedicine.aspx
therapy to treat cancers where alpha radiation emitters such as
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_medicine
Bismuth-212 (half-life 1 hour) and Bismuth-213 (half-life 46 mins)

USE THE MMTA OFFICE MEETING ROOMFOR FREE*!
*BENEFIT OF MMTA MEMBERSHIPCENTRAL LONDON LOCATION
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11

Was Napoleon killed
by wallpaper?
By Maria Cox, MMTA

Ever since the defeated French emperor, Napoleon Bonaparte’s death in1821, on the island of St. Helena, where he lived in exile for nearly six years,
there has been speculation as to the cause.
Theories of British assassination plots could be less realistic than one of themost everyday substances in the 19th Century home—the wallpaper.
But why the wallpaper? During the first half of the 19th Century, many changes
were happening in the home, and in the 1850’s oil lamps replaced candles as
the main source of domestic light, providing greater light levels. As a result, thefashion for interior decoration changed. With greater illumination, darker
shades became fashionable—with green being a great favourite, for example
Scheele’s Green and Schweinfurt Green. Described by Jessica Haslam in
Deadly Décor as an ‘accidental killer’, Grace Elliot, a historical blogger, statesthat it was estimated that in 1858 there were 100 million squares miles of green
wallpaper in Britain alone, not to mention various other home furnishings using
shades of green.

Image: Napoleon Bonaparte—American Museum of Natural History

Scheele’s green (copper arsenite) was discovered in 1778 by Karl Scheele, a Swedish chemist. Like the IKEA home furnishings of today, it
was cheap and vibrant in colour and became extremely popular in the manufacture of a wide range of home goods in homes of all levels
of wealth.
In ‘Deadly Décor’, Haslam explains that “suspicions regarding the safety of such arsenic wallpaper date back as far as 1839, when Leopold
Gmelin, a famous German chemist, noted that damp rooms with green wallpaper often possessed a mouse-like odour, which he attributed
to the production of dimethyl arsenic acid within the wallpaper. He reported his concerns in Karslruher Zeitung, a German daily paper of
the time, warning the population against applying papers containing Scheele’s green pigments to the walls of their homes.
Paper manufacturers, including William Morris, disputed thegrowing body of evidence, and the government, which enjoyed thetax revenue such industrialised home expenditure brought with it,remained very silent on this growing public health scare. However,it slowly became clear that not only arsenic dust from inferior
wallpapers, but also arsenic fumes—released due to warm, damp
conditions—were leading to breathing difficulties and in somecases death.

Image: Toxic Green Room—Death on the Walls

The problem was made worse by the fact that the sick werecommonly confined to darkened rooms with the windows anddoors closed to keep the patient warm and prevent chills from thecold air. So anyone complaining of headaches, fatigue, chest
complaints and nausea (symptoms of arsenic poisoning) would be
enclosed in their green bedroom to recover.

The first major cases—4 children in Limehouse, a poor area of London—were initially diagnosed as diphtheria. But the supposed infection
did not spread, which confused doctors. Haslam explains that “it was not until Henry Letheby, a public health officer at the time,
discovered that the children’s bedroom had recently been papered with green wallpaper that the true cause of death was discovered.
12

His examination of the paper found that it contained three grains
per square foot of arsenic; a lethal dose”.
Anyway, back to Napoleon: he could have been exposed to thepoison through the toxic fumes given off by wallpaper at
Longwood, his prison home on St Helena.
A sample of the paper had been secured by a visitor to the site in
the 1820s and tucked into a family scrapbook. It surfaced in
Norfolk, England, in the 1980s and, when tested by British
scientists in the 1990s, was found to contain arsenic.
According to the American Museum of Natural History, “otherevidence suggests that Napoleon’s exposure to arsenic was likely
life-long. In 2008, an Italian team widened the inquiry by testing
not only strands of Napoleon’s hair from four points in his life—
Image: Longwood, Napoleon’s prison home, AMNH
including his boyhood, his exile, the day of his death, and the day
after—but that of his son, Napoleon II, and his wife, Empress
Josephine. All samples were found to have similarly high arsenic levels, roughly 100 times that of living people whose hair was includedin the analysis for comparison.”So, although not proven, death by wallpaper is definitely a viable theory in the death of the former Emperor!

Sources:
Haslam, J. C., Res Medica, Volume 21, Issue 1, Journal of the Royal Medial Society, Deadly décor: a short history of arsenic poisoning in thenineteenth century
http://www.amnh.org/explore/news-blogs/on-exhibit-posts/poison-what-killed-napoleon/
http://graceelliot-author.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/death-on-walls-poison-in-victorian.html

Science News
Artificial Leaf Solar Cells
Researchers have developed a new type of solar
cell that is capable of transforming carbon dioxide
into usable hydrocarbon fuel using only sunlightas energy.
Compared with conventional solar cells thatconvert sunlight into electricity to be stored inbatteries, the new solar cells cheaply andefficiently convert carbon dioxide in theatmosphere directly into usable fuel.
The new device works much like trees and plantsthat capture and convert carbon dioxide intosugars to store them as energy. Unlike plants that use catalysts to produce sugar, the researchers used nanoflake tungsten diselenide
catalyst to convert carbon dioxide into carbon monoxide.
A solar farm of these so-called artificial leaves can also positively impact global warming by removing significant amounts of the green
house gas carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
Source: Adapted from http://www.techtimes.com/articles/171975/20160731/artificial-leaf-new-solar-cell-uses-carbon-dioxide-andsunlight-to-produce-hydrocarbon-fuel.htm
13Lutetium Has Potential in a New Generation ofComputing Devices
By James Walsh, MMTA
Scientists have developed a new material that has the potential tolead to a new generation of computing devices, by packing in more
power while at the same time consuming a fraction of the energy
compared to today’s devices.
The work was undertaken by researchers at the US Department ofEnergy’s Lawrence Berkley National Laboratory and Cornell
University, N.Y.
The new material “sandwiches” together individual layers of atoms
to produce a thin film with magnetic polarity that can be flipped
between positive and negative with small pulses of electricity. The
benefit of this property is that it can be turned into 0’s and 1’s, or
binary which underpins computing devices. This could open thedoor to ultralow-power microprocessors, storage devices, and next
generation electronics.
The new material uses lutetium iron oxide (LuFeO3), a robust
ferroelectric but not strongly magnetic, created in thin films
consisting of alternating layers of lutetium oxide and iron oxide. To
make the material unique, they added one extra monolayer of ironoxide every 10 atomic repeats (layers). This extra addition
dramatically changed the material’s properties and a strongly
ferromagnetic layer was produced near room temperature.
Darrell Schlom, a materials science and engineering professor atCornell University, describes the process as “spray painting
individual atoms of iron, lutetium and oxygen to build up the new
atomic structure, exhibiting the stronger magnetic properties.”
Electronics are the fastest growing consumer of energy worldwide,currently consuming around 5% of global energy production.
This is projected to grow to 40-50% by 2030 at the current pace
if there are no major advances in the field that lead lower energy
consumption.
Researchers have increasingly sought alternatives tosemiconductor-based electronics over the past decade as theincreases in speed and density of microprocessors come at theexpense of greater demands on electricity and hotter circuits.
This is why room-temperature multiferroics are a hotly pursued
goal as they require much less power to read and write data than
today’s semiconductors. Those properties could make possible,
devices that require only brief pulses of electricity instead of theconstant stream needed for current electronics, using an estimated
100 times less energy.
Although a viable multiferroic device like this is likely to be several
years off, this achievement brings the field closer to its goal of
creating devices that continue the computing industry’s speed
14Lutetium facts
Lutetium is a silvery white metal that appears at the
far end of the lanthanoid group of the periodic table.
It has the highest atomic weight, density and melting
point (1663oC/3025oF) of the rare earth elements(REEs).
Its name is derived from the Latin for Paris – Lutetia—
and it was discovered in 1907 by Georges Urbain in
Paris, France and independently by Charles James in
New Hampshire, USA.
It is sourced as a by-product of yttrium, among other
REEs in very small quantities, recovered by ionexchange with great difficulty.
Because lutetium is difficult to produce, it isexpensive, and hence there are few commercial uses.
However, it is used for niche applications such as
dating meteorites, and as a radionuclide in cancer
treatment. It is also used as a catalyst for cracking
hydrocarbons in oil refineries.
improvements while consuming less power and also proving
Moore’s Law once again.
A paper on the work was published in the September 22nd issue of
NatureSources:

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v537/n7621/
full/nature19343.html
http://www.asminternational.org/news/industry/-/
journal_content/56/10180/26824210/NEWS
http://www.rsc.org/periodic-table/element/71/lutetium

Update on EU Silicon Duties
By Ines Van Lierde, EuroAlliages
EU duties on silicon originating in the People’s Republic of China
have been renewed this year for an additional 5 years, as detailed
in the Commission Implementing Regulation 2016/1077 of 1 July
2016. The regulation imposes also that the extension of themeasures to imports consigned from the Republic of Korea andfrom Taiwan is maintained, to capture EU imports originating in
China via these routes.

easily absorbable by the exporter.
The first duties on Silicon were imposed in 1990, and the EU has felt
the need to renew these ever since because of the continuing low
price of imports emanating from China.
Moreover, overcapacity, which touches many sectors, is further
deflating the price of many metals, including silicon. For example,
China has the capacity to produce more than twice the world’s
demand for silicon each year, and due to the slowdown in its
own economy, looks to export this material, to overcome thisovercapacity.

The duty imposed is 16,8%, compared with 139% in the US and more
For more information regarding silicon duties, please contact
than 200% in Canada. For this reason, the EU duty is much more
EuroAlliages: http://www.euroalliages.com/

Plastination

Silicon or Silicone?

By Gina Evangelidis,
MMTA

Silicon is a naturally occurring chemical element, whereas
silicone is a synthetic substance.

Silicon is the 14th element on the periodic table. It's a metalloid,
meaning it has properties of both metals and non-metals, andis the second most abundant element in the Earth's crust,after oxygen.

Silicon readily bonds with oxygen and is rarely found in nature
in its pure form. When silicon and oxygen mix with reactive
metals, the result is a class of minerals called silicates, which
includes granite, feldspar and mica.

Elemental silicon is a major player in modern electronics
because it's an ideal semiconductor of electricity. When heatedinto a molten state, silicon can be formed into semi-conductive
wafers, to serve as the base for integrated circuits.

Silicone, by contrast, is a synthetic polymer made up ofsilicon, oxygen and other elements, most typically carbon
and hydrogen.

The technique founded
by Gunther Von Hagens
in 1978, allows biological
specimens to beprepared for research,teaching anddemonstration purposes.
My most recent
encounter withplastination took place at
New Scientist Live where
the Royal Veterinary College were exhibiting some of thespecimens used by their students. These piqued my interest as
did the silicone standard plastination process.
There are five steps to this process: fixing, dehydration, forced
impregnation, positioning and curing.

Fixing, or embalming as we may more commonly know it, preventsthe specimen from decaying and is the backbone of all the workthat follows. This prepares the specimin to be placed in a bath ofeither acetone or alcohol at temperatures between -15 ° C to 25 °C. At this temperature, the fat and bodily fluids are removed from
the specimen, preparing it for impregnation.
Impregnation takes place by placing the specimen in bath ofsilicone and vaporising the acetone. By now, the specimen can bepositioned as desired and cured to harden. This final processensures that it is able to be used in future without the requirement
for special storage or handling procedures—particularly useful for
educational establishments and students.
The key benefit of plastination is that it gives a real, tangible
understanding of the anatomy, and thus enriches and enhances
students’ studies. Of course, this is not the only way it is used –macabre artistic sculptures are created through the use ofplastination, and whilst somewhat uncomfortable, the use of thisprocess in modern day teaching and medicine far outweighs this.

Silicone is generally a liquid or a flexible, rubberlike plastic, andhas a number of useful properties, such as low toxicity and highheat resistance. It also provides good electrical insulation.
In the medical field, silicone can be found in implants,
catheters, contact lenses, bandages and a variety of otherthings, including personal care items, such as shampoos,shaving cream and sex toys.

Due to its high heat resistance, silicone makes up a lot ofkitchenware, such as oven mitts, tongs and pan handles;
silicone's non-stick properties also make it useful for cookware
coatings. Additionally, the material's heat resistance andslipperiness make it an ideal lubricant for automotive parts.

And, like silicon, silicone is important in electronics — it's used
to make casings that can shield sensitive devices from electricalshocks and other hazards.

Source: Joseph Castro, @livescience15

16