Because of its scarcity, high radioactivity and high toxicity, there are currently no practical uses for protactinium other than that of basic scientific research, and for this purpose, protactinium is generally extracted from spent nuclear fuel.

What is protactinium mostly used for?

Protactinium is used mainly for research purposes. Protactinium-231 combined with the thorium-230 can be used to date marine sediments.

What are the properties of protactinium?

Protactinium is a silver metallic element that belongs to the actinide group. It is malleable, shiny, silver-gray, radioactive. It does not tarnish rapidly in air, it is attacked by oxygen, steam and acids, but not by alkalis. It is superconductive at temperatures below 1.4 K.