Rediscovery of the Elements Rhenium and Technetium III Figure 1. The transition metals of the Periodic Table had all been discovered by 1923 except for the eka- manganeses (also known as “eka-” and “dvi-”Mn, “1” and “2” in Sanskrit). Noddack and Tacke reasoned that these two elements might be found in platinum ores (where the shaded blue elements may be found as 6 James L. Marshall, Beta Eta 1971, and impurities) and/or columbite (Fe,Mn)(Nb,Ta)2O6 (red shaded elements). Their research showed that Virginia R. Marshall, Beta Eta 2003, element 75 (rhenium) is actually most commonly associated with molybdenum in nature (see double 27,28 Department of Chemistry, University of headed arrow), corresponding to the “diagonal behavior” occasionally observed in the Periodic Table. North Texas, Denton, TX 76203-5070,
[email protected] Figure 2. Ida Tacke and Walter Noddack in their laboratory at the After the 1923 discovery of hafnium,1f only Physikalisch-Technische Reichsanstalt two transition group elements were yet to be (PTR) in Berlin-Charlottenburg, discovered. These predicted elements (43 and established in 1887, where rhenium 75) were homologues of manganese, the pre- was separated and characterized. dicted “eka-manganeses” of Mendeleev1c Noddack is posing with his ever-pre- (Figure 1). However, all attempts to find them sent cigar and is wearing his stained in crude manganese preparations ended in fail- laboratory coat proving that indeed ure.2 The problem of the missing elements was he was a dedicated bench-chemist. addressed in a comprehensive research project Photo, courtesy, Wesel Archives, by the husband-wife team of Walter Karl Germany.