Flerovium

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Flerovium, 114Fl
General properties
Name, symbol flerovium, Fl
Pronunciation /fl ro vim/[1]
fli-roh-vee-m
Flerovium in the periodic table
Hydrogen (diatomic nonmetal)
Helium (noble gas)
Lithium (alkali metal)
Beryllium (alkaline earth metal)
Boron (metalloid)
Carbon (polyatomic nonmetal)
Nitrogen (diatomic nonmetal)
Oxygen (diatomic nonmetal)
Fluorine (diatomic nonmetal)
Neon (noble gas)
Sodium (alkali metal)
Magnesium (alkaline earth metal)
Aluminium (post-transition metal)
Silicon (metalloid)
Phosphorus (polyatomic nonmetal)
Sulfur (polyatomic nonmetal)
Chlorine (diatomic nonmetal)
Argon (noble gas)
Potassium (alkali metal)
Calcium (alkaline earth metal)
Scandium (transition metal)
Titanium (transition metal)
Vanadium (transition metal)
Chromium (transition metal)
Manganese (transition metal)
Iron (transition metal)
Cobalt (transition metal)
Nickel (transition metal)
Copper (transition metal)
Zinc (transition metal)
Gallium (post-transition metal)
Germanium (metalloid)
Arsenic (metalloid)
Selenium (polyatomic nonmetal)
Bromine (diatomic nonmetal)
Krypton (noble gas)
Rubidium (alkali metal)
Strontium (alkaline earth metal)
Yttrium (transition metal)
Zirconium (transition metal)
Niobium (transition metal)
Molybdenum (transition metal)
Technetium (transition metal)
Ruthenium (transition metal)
Rhodium (transition metal)
Palladium (transition metal)
Silver (transition metal)
Cadmium (transition metal)
Indium (post-transition metal)
Tin (post-transition metal)
Antimony (metalloid)
Tellurium (metalloid)
Iodine (diatomic nonmetal)
Xenon (noble gas)
Caesium (alkali metal)
Barium (alkaline earth metal)
Lanthanum (lanthanide)
Cerium (lanthanide)
Praseodymium (lanthanide)
Neodymium (lanthanide)
Promethium (lanthanide)
Samarium (lanthanide)
Europium (lanthanide)
Gadolinium (lanthanide)
Terbium (lanthanide)
Dysprosium (lanthanide)
Holmium (lanthanide)
Erbium (lanthanide)
Thulium (lanthanide)
Ytterbium (lanthanide)
Lutetium (lanthanide)
Hafnium (transition metal)
Tantalum (transition metal)
Tungsten (transition metal)
Rhenium (transition metal)
Osmium (transition metal)
Iridium (transition metal)
Platinum (transition metal)
Gold (transition metal)
Mercury (transition metal)
Thallium (post-transition metal)
Lead (post-transition metal)
Bismuth (post-transition metal)
Polonium (post-transition metal)
Astatine (metalloid)
Radon (noble gas)
Francium (alkali metal)
Radium (alkaline earth metal)
Actinium (actinide)
Thorium (actinide)
Protactinium (actinide)
Uranium (actinide)
Neptunium (actinide)
Plutonium (actinide)
Americium (actinide)
Curium (actinide)
Berkelium (actinide)
Californium (actinide)
Einsteinium (actinide)
Fermium (actinide)
Mendelevium (actinide)
Nobelium (actinide)
Lawrencium (actinide)
Rutherfordium (transition metal)
Dubnium (transition metal)
Seaborgium (transition metal)
Bohrium (transition metal)
Hassium (transition metal)
Meitnerium (unknown chemical properties)
Darmstadtium (unknown chemical properties)
Roentgenium (unknown chemical properties)
Copernicium (transition metal)
Nihonium (unknown chemical properties)
Flerovium (post-transition metal)
Moscovium (unknown chemical properties)
Livermorium (unknown chemical properties)
Tennessine (unknown chemical properties)
Oganesson (unknown chemical properties)
Pb

Fl

(Uho)
nihonium flerovium moscovium
Atomic number (Z) 114
Group, block group 14 (carbon group), p-block
Period period 7
Element category post-transition metal
Standard atomic weight (Ar) [289]
Electron configuration [Rn] 5f14 6d10 7s2 7p2 (predicted)[2]
Electrons per shell
2, 8, 18, 32, 32, 18, 4 (predicted)
Physical properties
Phase solid (predicted)[2]
Melting point 340 K (67 C, 160 F) (predicted)[3]
Boiling point 420 K (147 C, 297 F) (predicted)[3][4][5]
Density near r.t. 14 g/cm3 (predicted)[3]
Heat of vaporization 38 kJ/mol (predicted)[3]
Atomic properties
Oxidation states 0, 1, 2, 4, 6 (predicted)[2][3][6]
Ionization energies 1st: 823.9 kJ/mol (predicted)[2]
2nd: 1601.6 kJ/mol (predicted)[3]
3rd: 3367.3 kJ/mol (predicted)[3]
(more)
Atomic radius empirical: 180 pm (predicted)[2][3]
Covalent radius 171177 pm (extrapolated)[4]
Miscellanea
CAS Number 54085-16-4
History
Naming after Flerov Laboratory of Nuclear Reactions (itself named after Georgy
Flyorov)[7]
Discovery Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR) and Lawrence Livermo
re National Laboratory (LLNL) (1999)
Most stable isotopes of flerovium
iso NA half-life DM DE (MeV) DP
289Fl syn 2 s 9.82,9.48 285Cn
288Fl syn 0.6 s 9.94 284Cn
287Fl syn 0.5 s 10.02 283Cn
286Fl syn 0.12 s 40% 10.19 282Cn
60% SF
285Fl[8][9] syn 0.15 s 10.41(5) 281Cn
284Fl[8][9] syn 2 ms SF
view t lk edit | references | in Wikid t
Flerovium is superhe vy rtifici l chemic l element with symbol Fl nd tomic
number 114. It is n extremely r dio ctive synthetic element. The element is n m
ed fter the Flerov L bor tory of Nucle r Re ctions of the Joint Institute for N
ucle r Rese rch in Dubn , Russi , where the element w s discovered in 1998. The
n me of the l bor tory, in turn, honours the Russi n physicist Georgy Flyorov ( in Cy
illic, hence the tr nsliter tion of "yo" to "e"). The n me w s dopted by IUPAC
on 30 M y 2012.
In the periodic t ble of the elements, it is tr ns ctinide element in the p-bl
ock. It is member of the 7th period nd is the he viest known member of the c
rbon group; it is lso the he viest element whose chemistry is currently known.
Initi l chemic l studies performed in 20072008 indic ted th t flerovium w s unexp
ectedly vol tile for group 14 element;[10] in prelimin ry results it even seem
ed to exhibit properties simil r to those of the noble g ses.[11] More recent re
sults show th t flerovium's re ction with gold is simil r to th t of copernicium
, showing th t it is very vol tile element th t m y even be g seous t st nd r
d temper ture nd pressure, th t it would show met llic properties, consistent w
ith it being the he vier homologue of le d, nd th t it would be the le st re ct
ive met l in group 14.
About 90 toms of flerovium h ve been observed: 58 were synthesized directly, n
d the rest were m de from the r dio ctive dec y of he vier elements. All of thes
e flerovium toms h ve been shown to h ve m ss numbers from 284 to 289. The most
st ble known flerovium isotope, flerovium-289, h s h lf-life of round 2.6 se
conds, but it is possible th t this isotope m y h ve nucle r isomer with lon
ger h lf-life of 66 seconds; this would be one of the longest h lf-lives of ny
isotope of superhe vy element. Flerovium is predicted to be ne r the centre of
the theorized isl nd of st bility, nd it is expected th t he vier flerovium is
otopes, especi lly the possibly doubly m gic flerovium-298, m y h ve even longer
h lf-lives.
Contents [hide]
1 History
1.1 Pre-discovery
1.2 Discovery
1.3 Ro d to confirm tion
1.4 N ming
2 Predicted properties
2.1 Nucle r st bility nd isotopes
2.2 Atomic nd physic l
2.3 Chemic l
3 Experiment l chemistry
4 See lso
5 Notes
6 References
7 Bibliogr phy
8 Extern l links
History[edit]
See lso: Discovery of the chemic l elements
Pre-discovery[edit]
From the l te 1940s to the e rly 1960s, the e rly d ys of the synthesis of he vi
er nd he vier tr nsur nium elements, it w s predicted th t since such he vy ele
ments did not occur n tur lly, they would h ve shorter nd shorter h lf-lives to
spont neous fission, until they stopped existing ltogether t round element 1
08 (now known s h ssium). Initi l work in the synthesis of the ctinides ppe r
ed to confirm this.[12] The nucle r shell model, introduced in the l te 1960s, s
t ted th t the protons nd neutrons formed shells within nucleus, somewh t n
logous to electrons forming electron shells within n tom. The noble g ses re
unre ctive due to their h ving full electron shells; thus it w s theorized th t
elements with full nucle r shells h ving so-c lled "m gic" numbers of protons or
neutrons would be st bilized g inst r dio ctive dec y. A doubly m gic isotope,
h ving m gic numbers of both protons nd neutrons, would be especi lly st biliz
ed, nd it w s c lcul ted th t the next doubly m gic isotope fter le d-208 woul
d be flerovium-298 with 114 protons nd 184 neutrons, which would form the centr
e of so-c lled "isl nd of st bility".[12] This isl nd of st bility, supposedly
r nging from copernicium (element 112) to og nesson (118), would come fter l
ong "se of inst bility" from elements 101 (mendelevium) to 111 (roentgenium),[1
2] nd the flerovium isotopes in it were specul ted in 1966 to h ve h lf-lives i
n excess of hundred million ye rs.[13] It took thirty ye rs for the first isot
opes of flerovium to be synthesized.[12] More recent work suggests th t the loc
l isl nds of st bility round h ssium nd flerovium re due to these nuclei bein
g respectively deformed nd obl te, which m ke them resist nt to spont neous fis
sion, nd th t the true isl nd of st bility for spheric l nuclei occurs t roun
d unbibium-306 (with 122 protons nd 184 neutrons).[14]
Discovery[edit]
Flerovium w s first synthesized in December 1998 by te m of scientists t the
Joint Institute for Nucle r Rese rch (JINR) in Dubn , Russi , led by Yuri Og nes
si n, who bomb rded t rget of plutonium-244 with cceler ted nuclei of c lcium
-48:
244
94Pu
+ 48
20C
292
114Fl
* 289
114Fl
+ 3 1
0
n
A single tom of flerovium, dec ying by lph emission with lifetime of 30.4 s
econds, w s detected. The dec y energy me sured w s 9.71 MeV, giving n expected
h lf-life of 223 s.[15] This observ tion w s ssigned to the isotope flerovium-2
89 nd w s published in J nu ry 1999.[15] The experiment w s l ter repe ted, but
n isotope with these dec y properties w s never found g in nd hence the ex c
t identity of this ctivity is unknown. It is possible th t it w s due to the me
t st ble isomer 289mFl.[16][17]
Glenn T. Se borg, scientist t the L wrence Berkeley N tion l L bor tory who h
d been involved in work to synthesize such superhe vy elements, h d s id in Dec
ember 1997 th t "one of his longest-l sting nd most cherished dre ms w s to see
one of these m gic elements";[12] he w s told of the synthesis of flerovium by
his colle gue Albert Ghiorso soon fter its public tion in 1999. Ghiorso l ter r
ec lled:[18]
I w nted Glenn to know, so I went to his bedside nd told him. I thought I s w
gle m in his eye, but the next d y when I went to visit him he didn't remember
seeing me. As scientist, he h d died when he h d th t stroke.[18]
Albert Ghiorso
Se borg died month l ter, on 25 Febru ry 1999.[18]
Ro d to confirm tion[edit]
In M rch 1999, the s me te m repl ced the 244Pu t rget with 242Pu one in order
to produce other flerovium isotopes. This time two toms of flerovium were prod
uced, dec ying vi lph emission with h lf-life of 5.5 s. They were ssigned
s 287Fl.[19] This ctivity h s not been seen g in either, nd it is uncle r wh
t nucleus w s produced. It is possible th t it w s the met -st ble isomer 287mF
l.[20]
The now-confirmed discovery of flerovium w s m de in June 1999 when the Dubn te
m repe ted the first re ction from 1998. This time, two toms of flerovium were
produced; they lph dec yed with h lf-life of 2.6 s, different from the 1998
result.[16] This ctivity w s initi lly ssigned to 288Fl in error, due to the
confusion reg rding the previous observ tions th t were ssumed to come from 289
Fl. Further work in December 2002 fin lly llowed positive re ssignment of the
June 1999 toms to 289Fl.[20]
In M y 2009, the Joint Working P rty (JWP) of IUPAC published report on the di
scovery of copernicium in which they cknowledged the discovery of the isotope 2
83Cn.[21] This implied the discovery of flerovium, from the cknowledgement of t
he d t for the synthesis of 287Fl nd 291Lv, which dec y to 283Cn. The discover
y of the isotopes flerovium-286 nd -287 w s confirmed in J nu ry 2009 t Berkel
ey. This w s followed by confirm tion of flerovium-288 nd -289 in July 2009 t
the Gesellsch ft fr Schwerionenforschung (GSI) in Germ ny. In 2011, IUPAC ev lu t
ed the Dubn te m experiments of 19992007. They found the e rly d t inconclusive
, but ccepted the results of 20042007 s flerovium, nd the element w s offici l
ly recognized s h ving been discovered.[22]
N ming[edit]
St mp of Russi , issued in 2013, dedic ted to Georgy Flyorov nd flerovium
Using Mendeleev's nomencl ture for unn med nd undiscovered elements, flerovium
is sometimes c lled ek -le d. In 1979, IUPAC published recommend tions ccording
to which the element w s to be c lled ununqu dium (with the corresponding symbo
l of Uuq),[23] system tic element n me s pl ceholder, until the discovery o
f the element is confirmed nd perm nent n me is decided on. Some scientists i
n the field c lled it "element 114", with the symbol of (114) or 114.[2]
According to IUPAC recommend tions, the discoverer(s) of new element h s the r
ight to suggest n me.[24] After the discovery of flerovium nd livermorium w s
recognized by IUPAC on 1 June 2011, IUPAC sked the discovery te m t the JINR
to suggest perm nent n mes for those two elements. The Dubn te m chose to n me
element 114 flerovium (symbol Fl),[25][26] fter the Russi n Flerov L bor tory o
f Nucle r Re ctions (FLNR), n med fter the Soviet physicist Georgy Flyorov ( ls
o spelled Flerov); e rlier reports cl im the element n me w s directly proposed
to honour Flerov.[27] In ccord nce with the propos l received from the discover
ers IUPAC offici lly n med flerovium fter the Flerov L bor tory of Nucle r Re c
tions ( n older n me for the JINR), not fter Flyorov himself.[7] Flyorov is kno
wn for writing to St lin in April 1942 nd pointing out the silence in scientifi
c journ ls in the field of nucle r fission in the United St tes, Gre t Brit in,
nd Germ ny. Flyorov deduced th t this rese rch must h ve become cl ssified info
rm tion in those countries. Flyorov's work nd urgings led to the development of
the USSR's own tomic bomb project.[26]
Predicted properties[edit]
Nucle r st bility nd isotopes[edit]
M in rticle: Isotopes of flerovium
Regions of differently sh ped nuclei, s predicted by the Inter cting Boson Appr
oxim tion[14]
The physic l b sis of the chemic l periodicity governing the periodic t ble is t
he electron shell closures t e ch noble g s ( tomic numbers 2, 10, 18, 36, 54,
86, nd 118): s ny further electrons must enter new shell with higher energy
, closed-shell electron configur tions re m rkedly more st ble, le ding to the
rel tive inertness of the noble g ses.[3] Since protons nd neutrons re lso kn
own to rr nge themselves in closed nucle r shells, the s me effect h ppens t n
ucleon shell closures, which h ppen t specific nucleon numbers often dubbed "m
gic numbers". The known m gic numbers re 2, 8, 20, 28, 50, nd 82 for protons
nd neutrons, nd lso 126 for neutrons.[3] Nucleons with m gic proton nd neutro
n numbers, such s helium-4, oxygen-16, c lcium-48, nd le d-208, re termed "do
ubly m gic" nd re very st ble g inst dec y. This property of incre sed nucle
r st bility is very import nt for superhe vy elements: without ny st biliz tion
, their h lf-lives would be expected by exponenti l extr pol tion to be in the r
nge of n noseconds (109 s) when element 110 (darmstadtium) is reached, because o
f the ever
increasing repulsive electromagnetic forces between the positively ch
arged protons that overcome the limited
range strong nuclear force that holds th
e nucleus together. The next closed nucleon shells and hence magic numbers are t
hought to be at the centre of the long
sought island of stability, where the hal
f
lives to alpha decay and spontaneous fission lengthen again.[3]

Orbitals with high azimuthal quantum number are raised in energy, eliminating wh
at would otherwise be a gap in orbital energy corresponding to a closed proton s
hell at element 114. This raises the next proton shell to the region around elem
ent 120.[14]
Initially, by analogy with the neutron magic number 126, the next proton shell w
as also expected to occur at element 126, too far away from the synthesis capabi
lities of the mid
20th century to achieve much theoretical attention. In 1966, n
ew values for the potential and spin
orbit interaction in this region of the per
iodic table[28] contradicted this and predicted that the next proton shell would
occur instead at element 114,[3] and that nuclides in this region would be as s
table against spontaneous fission as many heavy nuclei such as lead
208.[3] The
expected closed neutron shells in this region were at neutron number 184 or 196,
thus making 298Fl and 310Fl candidates for being doubly magic.[3] 1972 estimate
s predicted a half
life of about a year for 298Fl, which was expected to be near
a large island of stability with the longest half
life at darmstadtium
294 (101
0 years, comparable to that of 232Th).[3] After the synthesis of the first isoto
pes of elements 112 through 118 at the turn of the 21st century, it was found th
at the synthesized neutron
deficient isotopes were stabilized against fission. I
n 2008 it was thus hypothesized that the stabilization against fission of these
nuclides was due to their being oblate nuclei, and that a region of oblate nucle
i was centred on 288Fl. Additionally, new theoretical models showed that the exp
ected gap in energy between the proton orbitals 2f7/2 (filled at element 114) an
d 2f5/2 (filled at element 120) was smaller than expected, so that element 114 n
o longer appeared to be a stable spherical closed nuclear shell. The next doubly
magic nucleus is now expected to be around 306Ubb, but the expected low half
li
fe and low production cross section of this nuclide makes its synthesis challeng
ing.[14] Nevertheless, the island of stability is still expected to exist in thi
s region of the periodic table, and nearer its centre (which has not been approa
ched closely enough yet) some nuclides, such as 291Mc and its alpha
and beta
de
cay daughters,[a] may be found to decay by positron emission or electron capture
and thus move into the centre of the island.[29] Due to the expected high fissi
on barriers, any nucleus within this island of stability decays exclusively by a
lpha decay and perhaps some electron capture and beta decay,[3] both of which wo
uld bring the nuclei closer to the beta stability line where the island is expec
ted to be. Electron capture is needed to reach the island, which is problematic
because it is not certain that electron capture becomes a major decay mode in th
is region of the chart of nuclides.[29]
Several experiments have been performed between 2000 and 2004 at the Flerov Labo
ratory of Nuclear Reactions in Dubna studying the fission characteristics of the
compound nucleus 292Fl by bombarding a plutonium
244 target with accelerated ca
lcium
48 ions.[30] A compound nucleus is a loose combination of nucleons that ha
ve not yet arranged themselves into nuclear shells. It has no internal structure
and is held together only by the collision forces between the target and projec
tile nuclei.[31][b] The results revealed how nuclei such as this fission predomi
nantly by expelling doubly magic or nearly doubly magic fragments such as calciu
m
40, tin
132, lead
208, or bismuth
209. It was also found that the yield for th
e fusion
fission pathway was similar between calcium
48 and iron
58 projectiles,
indicating a possible future use of iron
58 projectiles in superheavy element f
ormation.[30] It has also been suggested that a neutron
rich flerovium isotope c
an be formed by the quasifission (partial fusion followed by fission) of a massi
ve nucleus.[32] Recently it has been shown that the multi
nucleon transfer react
ions in collisions of actinide nuclei (such as uranium and curium) might be used
to synthesize the neutron
rich superheavy nuclei located at the island of stabi
lity,[32] although production of neutron
rich nobelium or seaborgium nuclei is m
ore likely.[29]
Theoretical estimation of the alpha decay half
lives of the isotopes of the fler
ovium supports the experimental data.[33][34] The fission
survived isotope 298Fl
, long expected to be doubly magic, is predicted to have alpha decay half
life a
round 17 days.[35][36] The direct synthesis of the nucleus 298Fl by a fusionevapo
ration pathway is currently impossible since no known combination of target and
stable projectile can provide 184 neutrons in the compound nucleus, and radioact
ive projectiles such as calcium
50 (half
life fourteen seconds) cannot yet be us
ed in the needed quantity and intensity.[32] Currently, one possibility for the
synthesis of the expected long
lived nuclei of copernicium (291Cn and 293Cn) and
flerovium near the middle of the island include using even heavier targets such
as curium
250, berkelium
249, californium
251, and einsteinium
254, that when f
used with calcium
48 would produce nuclei such as 291Mc and 291Fl (as decay prod
ucts of 299Uue, 295Ts, and 295Lv), with just enough neutrons to alpha decay to n
uclides close enough to the centre of the island to possibly undergo electron ca
pture and move inwards to the centre, though the cross sections would be small a
nd little is yet known about the decay properties of superheavy nuclides near th
e beta stability line. This may be the best hope currently to synthesize nuclei
on the island of stability, but it is speculative and may or may not work in pra
ctice.[29] Another possibility is to use controlled nuclear explosions to achiev
e the high neutron flux necessary to create macroscopic amounts of such isotopes
.[29] This would mimic the r
process in which the actinides were first produced
in nature and the gap of instability after polonium bypassed, as it would bypass
the gaps of instability at 258260Fm and at mass number 275 (atomic numbers 104 t
o 108).[29] Some such isotopes (especially 291Cn and 293Cn) may even have been s
ynthesized in nature, but would have decayed away far too quickly (with half
liv
es of only thousands of years) and be produced in far too small quantities (abou
t 1012 the abundance of lead) to be detectable as primordial nuclides today outsi
de cosmic rays.[29]
Atomic and physical[edit]
Flerovium is a member of group 14 in the periodic table, below carbon, silicon,
germanium, tin, and lead. Every previous group 14 element has four electrons in
its valence shell, forming a valence electron configuration of ns2np2. In flerov
ium's case, the trend will be continued and the valence electron configuration i
s predicted to be 7s27p2;[2] flerovium will behave similarly to its lighter cong
eners in many respects. Differences are likely to arise; a largely contributing
effect is the spinorbit (SO) interactionthe mutual interaction between the electro
ns' motion and spin. It is especially strong for the superheavy elements, becaus
e their electrons move faster than in lighter atoms, at velocities comparable to
the speed of light.[37] In relation to flerovium atoms, it lowers the 7s and th
e 7p electron energy levels (stabilizing the corresponding electrons), but two o
f the 7p electron energy levels are stabilized more than the other four.[38] The
stabilization of the 7s electrons is called the inert pair effect, and the effe
ct "tearing" the 7p subshell into the more stabilized and the less stabilized pa
rts is called subshell splitting. Computation chemists see the split as a change
of the second (azimuthal) quantum number l from 1 to 12 and 32 for the more stabili
zed and less stabilized parts of the 7p subshell, respectively.[39][c] For many
theoretical purposes, the valence electron configuration may be represented to r
eflect the 7p subshell split as 7s2
7p2
1/2.[2] These effects cause flerovium's chemistry to be somewhat different from
that of its lighter neighbours.
Due to the spin
orbit splitting of the 7p subshell being very large in flerovium
, and the fact that both flerovium's filled orbitals in the seventh shell are st
abilized relativistically, the valence electron configuration of flerovium may b
e considered to have a completely filled shell, making flerovium a very noble me
tal. Its first ionization energy of 8.539 eV (823.9 kJ/mol) should be the highes
t in group 14.[2] The 6d electron levels are also destabilized, and may still be
able to participate in chemical reactions in flerovium (but not the later 7p el
ements), which might allow it to behave in some ways like transition metals and
allow higher oxidation states[3] such as +4 and +6. They should be less stable t
han the +2 state, following periodic trends, and may only be stable in flerovium
fluorides.[3]
The closed
shell electron configuration of flerovium results in the metallic bon
ding in metallic flerovium being weaker than in the preceding and following elem
ents; thus, flerovium is expected to have a low boiling point,[2] and has recent
ly been suggested to be possibly a gaseous metal, similar to the predictions for
copernicium, which also has a closed
shell electron configuration.[14] The melt
ing and boiling points of flerovium are predicted to be around 70 C and 150 C,[2]
significantly lower than the values for the lighter group 14 elements (those of
lead are 327 C and 1749 C respectively), and continuing the trend of decreasing bo
iling points down the group. Although earlier studies predicted a boiling point
of ~1000 C or 2840 C,[3] this is now considered unlikely because of the expected w
eak metallic bonding in flerovium and that group trends would expect flerovium t
o have a low sublimation enthalpy.[2] In the solid state, flerovium is expected
to be a dense metal due to its high atomic weight, with a density variously pred
icted to be either 22 gcm3 or 14 gcm3.[2] The electron of the hydrogen
like fleroviu
m ion (oxidized so that it only has one electron, Fl113+) is expected to move so
fast that it has a mass 1.79 times that of a stationary electron, due to relati
vistic effects. For comparison, the figures for hydrogen
like lead and tin are e
xpected to be 1.25 and 1.073 respectively.[40] Flerovium would form weaker metalm
etal bonds than lead and would be adsorbed less on surfaces.[40]
Chemical[edit]
Flerovium is the heaviest known member of group 14 in the periodic table, below
lead, and is projected to be the second member of the 7p series of chemical elem
ents. The first five members of this group show the group oxidation state of +4
and the latter members have an increasingly prominent +2 chemistry due to the on
set of the inert pair effect. Tin represents the point at which the stability of
the +2 and +4 states are similar, and lead(II) is the most stable of all the ch
emically well
understood group 14 elements in the +2 oxidation state.[2] The 7s
orbitals are very highly stabilized in flerovium and thus a very large sp3 orbit
al hybridization is required to achieve the +4 oxidation state, so flerovium is
expected to be even more stable than lead in its strongly predominant +2 oxidati
on state and its +4 oxidation state should be highly unstable.[2] For example, f
lerovium dioxide (FlO2) is expected to be highly unstable to decomposition into
its constituent elements (and would not be formed from the direct reaction of fl
erovium with oxygen),[2][41] and flerovane (FlH4), which should have FlH bond len
gths of 1.787 ,[6] is predicted to be more thermodynamically unstable than plumba
ne, spontaneously decomposing into flerovium(II) hydride (FlH2) and hydrogen gas
.[42] The only stable flerovium(IV) compound is expected to be the tetrafluoride
, FlF4:[43] even this may be due to sd hybridizations rather than sp3 hybridizat
ion,[44] and its decomposition to the difluoride and fluorine gas would be exoth
ermic.[6] The gross destabilization of all the tetrahalides (for example, FlCl4
is destabilized by about 400 kJ/mol) is unfortunate because otherwise these comp
ounds would be very useful in gas
phase chemical studies of flerovium.[6] The co
rresponding polyfluoride anion FlF2
6 should be unstable to hydrolysis in aqueous solution, and flerovium(II) polyha
lide anions such as FlBr
3 and FlI
3 are predicted to form preferentially in flerovium
containing solutions.[2] The
sd hybridizations might be possible as the 7s and 6d electrons in flerovium sha
re approximately the same energy, perhaps making even higher oxidation states li
ke +6 possible with extremely electronegative elements, such as in flerovium(VI)
fluoride (FlF6).[3] In general, the spin
orbit contraction of the 7p1/2 orbital
should lead to smaller bond lengths and larger bond angles: this has been theor
etically confirmed in FlH2.[6]
Due to the relativistic stabilization of flerovium's 7s27p2
1/2 valence electron configuration, the 0 oxidation state should also be more st
able for flerovium than for lead, as the 7p1/2 electrons begin to also exhibit a
mild inert pair effect:[2] this stabilization of the neutral state may bring ab
out some similarities between the behaviour of flerovium and the noble gas radon
.[11] Due to the expected relative inertness of flerovium, its diatomic compound
s FlH and FlF should have lower energies of dissociation than the corresponding
lead compounds PbH and PbF.[6] Flerovium(IV) should be even more electronegative
than lead(IV);[43] lead(IV) has electronegativity 2.33 on the Pauling scale; th
e lead(II) value is only 1.87.
Flerovium(II) should be more stable than lead(II), and polyhalide ions and compo
unds of types FlX+, FlX2, FlX
3, and FlX2
4 (X = Cl, Br, I) are expected to form readily. Fluorine would be able to also f
orm the unstable flerovium(IV) analogues.[2] All the flerovium dihalides are exp
ected to be stable;[2] with the difluoride being water
soluble,[45] spin
orbit e
ffects would destabilize flerovium dihydride (FlH2) by almost 2.6 eV (250 kJ/mol
).[41] In solution, flerovium would also form the oxoanion flerovite (FlO2
2) in aqueous solution, analogous to plumbite. Flerovium(II) sulfate (FlSO4) and
sulfide (FlS) should be very insoluble in water, and flerovium(II) acetate (FlC
2H3O2) and nitrate (Fl(NO3)2) should be quite water
soluble.[3] The standard ele
ctrode potential for the reduction of Fl2+ ions to metallic flerovium is estimat
ed to be around +0.9 V, confirming the increased stability of flerovium in the n
eutral state.[2] In general, due to the relativistic stabilization of the 7p1/2
spinor, Fl2+ is expected to have properties intermediate between those of Hg2+ o
r Cd2+ and its lighter congener Pb2+.[2] The standard electrode potential for th
e Fl2+/Fl couple is predicted to be 0.9 V.[3]
Experimental chemistry[edit]
Flerovium is currently the heaviest element to have had its chemistry experiment
ally investigated. Two experiments were performed in AprilMay 2007 in a joint FLN
R
PSI collaboration aiming to study the chemistry of copernicium. The first expe
riment involved the reaction 242Pu(48Ca,3n)287Fl and the second the reaction 244
Pu(48Ca,4n)288Fl: these reactions produce short
lived flerovium isotopes whose c
opernicium daughters would then be studied.[46] The adsorption properties of the
resultant atoms on a gold surface were compared with those of radon, as it was
then expected that copernicium's full
shell electron configuration would lead to
noble
gas like behaviour.[46] Noble gases interact with metal surfaces very wea
kly, which is uncharacteristic of metals.[46]
The first experiment allowed detection of three atoms of 283Cn but also seemingl
y detected 1 atom of 287Fl. This result was a surprise given the transport time
of the product atoms is ~2 s, so the flerovium atoms produced should have decaye
d to copernicium before adsorption. In the second reaction, 2 atoms of 288Fl and
possibly 1 atom of 289Fl were detected. Two of the three atoms displayed adsorp
tion characteristics associated with a volatile, noble
gas
like element, which h
as been suggested but is not predicted by more recent calculations. These experi
ments provided independent confirmation for the discovery of copernicium, flerov
ium, and livermorium via comparison with published decay data. Further experimen
ts in 2008 to confirm this important result detected a single atom of 289Fl, and
supported previous data showing flerovium having a noble
gas
like interaction w
ith gold.[46]
The experimental support for a noble
gas
like flerovium was soon to weaken abrup
tly. In 2009 and 2010, the FLNR
PSI collaboration synthesized further atoms of f
lerovium to follow up their 2007 and 2008 studies. In particular, the first thre
e flerovium atoms synthesized in the 2010 study suggested again a noble
gas
like
 character, but the complete set taken together resulted in a more ambiguous int
erpretation, unusual for a metal in the carbon group but not fully like a noble
gas in character.[47] In their paper, the scientists refrained from calling fler
ovium's chemical properties "close to those of noble gases", as had previously b
een done in the 2008 study.[47] Flerovium's volatility was again measured throug
h interactions with a gold surface, and provided indications that the volatility
of flerovium was comparable to that of mercury, astatine, and the simultaneousl
y investigated copernicium, which had been shown in the study to be a very volat
ile noble metal, conforming to its being the heaviest group 12 element known.[47
] Nevertheless, it was pointed out that this volatile behaviour was not expected
for a usual group 14 metal.[47]
In even later experiments from 2012 at the GSI, the chemical properties of flero
vium were revealed to be more metallic than noble
gas
like. Jens Volker Kratz an
d Christoph Dllmann specifically named copernicium and flerovium as belonging to
a new category of "volatile metals"; Kratz even speculated that they might be ga
seous at standard temperature and pressure.[14][48] These "volatile metals", as
a category, were expected to fall between normal metals and noble gases in terms
of adsorption properties.[14] Contrary to the 2009 and 2010 results, it was sho
wn in the 2012 experiments that the interactions of flerovium and copernicium re
spectively with gold were about equal.[49] Further studies showed that flerovium
was more reactive than copernicium, in contradiction to previous experiments an
d predictions.[14]