Chemical experiments with superheavy elements
1Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Radiochemistry, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Bern University, Bern. Andreas.Tuerler@psi.ch
Abstract:
Unnoticed by many chemists, the Periodic Table of the Elements has been extended significantly in the last couple of years and the 7th period has very recently been completed with eka-Rn (element 118) currently being the heaviest element whose synthesis has been reported. These 'superheavy' elements (also called transactinides with atomic number > or = 104 (Rf)) have been artificially synthesized in fusion reactions at accelerators in minute quantities of a few single atoms. In addition, all isotopes of the transactinide elements are radioactive and decay with rather short half-lives. Nevertheless, it has been possible in some cases to investigate experimentally chemical properties of transactinide elements and even synthesize simple compounds. The experimental investigation of superheavy elements is especially intriguing, since theoretical calculations predict significant deviations from periodic trends due to the influence of strong relativistic effects. In this contribution first experiments with hassium (Hs, atomic number 108), copernicium (Cn, atomic number 112) and element 114 (eka-Pb) are reviewed.
Related Concept Videos
Nuclear Transmutation
Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy: Atomization Methods
Elements: Chemical Symbols and Isotopes
Some symbols are derived from the common English name of the element; others are abbreviations of the name in another language — Latin, Greek or German. For example, the symbol for aluminum (common name)...
Nuclear Fusion
A helium nucleus has a mass that is 0.7% less than that of four hydrogen nuclei; this lost mass is converted into energy during the fusion. This reaction produces about...
Chemical Symbols
Some symbols are derived from the common name of the element; others are abbreviations of the name in another language. Most symbols have one or two letters, but three-letter symbols have been used...
Atomic Emission Spectroscopy: Lab


