Element 104 / Rutherfordium / Liquid-liquid extraction / Transactinide chemistry / KurchatoviumAbstract Liquid-liquid extractions of element 104 (Rf), Zr, Nb, Hf, Th, and Pu(IV) were conducted using tributylphosphate (TBP) in benzene. Initial studies were conducted using 95 Zr and 95 Nb. The effect of TBP, HCl, chloride, and hydrogen ion concentrations on Zr and Nb extraction was examined. Based on the results from these experiments, it was decided to examine Rf extraction into 0.25 M TBP in benzene as a function of HCl, chloride, and hydrogen ion concentrations between 8 and 12 M. Studies of these extraction conditions were carried out using 95 Zr, 169 Hf, 228 Th, 238 Pu, and 26, Rf. The 65-second 261 Rf was produced via the 248 Cm( 18 0,5n) reaction at the 88-Inch Cyclotron at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory. The results show that extraction for these elements increases or remains high as a function of HCl concentration. However, in the experiments in which the chloride and hydrogen ion were varied, Rf extraction differed from that of the group 4 elements and behaved more like Pu(IV).