Advances in f element reductive reactivity as a paradigm for expanding lanthanide and actinide science and technology

For 90 years, lanthanide-based reduction chemistry was accomplished with just three divalent ions, Eu2+, Yb2+, and Sm2+. Now there are many new ways to accomplish molecular reductive chemistry equivalent to that of the traditional Ln2+ ions, but with all the metals in the lanthanide series, La-Lu. Several years ago such an idea would have been unthinkable. This lecture will describe the development of these new types of reduction and their implications in both lanthanide and actinide chemistry.