Fun with f-elements

An image showing a compound in a flask

Source: © David Mills

Working with lanthanides and actinides may be challenging, but David Mills says the field is ripe for discovery

David Mills likes making compounds that – in theory – have no right to exist. His group synthesises compounds with unusual oxidation states, unusual geometries and unusual bonding motifs. Much of the time those compounds feature elements from the periodic table’s f-block.