Flerovium is a radioactive element named after the Flerov Laboratory of Nuclear Reactions (or its founder, physicist Georgy Flerov, according to some) at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR) in Dubna, Russia. A team of Russian scientists at the institute produced the first observed flerovium atom in a particle accelerator in 1998. The discovery became official the following year with the team’s observation of a second and third flerovium atom. In both cases, the flerovium products were formed by fusion of a plutonium-244 and calcium-48. The newly discovered element was called ununquadium, based on the Latin roots for its atomic number. But in 2012, the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) accepted the name flerovium in honor of JINR's founder.
Flerovium
Element Stats
Physical
| Property | Value | Property | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Appearance | Appearance unknown; only a few atoms have ever been produced | ||
| Classification | Uncategorized Super Heavies | Density | 11.4 ± 0.3 g/cm³, predicted |
| Boiling Point | -- | Melting Point | 284 ± 50 K, predicted |
Atomic
| Property | Value | Property | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Atomic Number | 114 | Atomic Mass | 289 |
| Van Der Waals Radius | -- | Atomic Radius (empirical) | 180, predicted |
Electronic & Chemical
| Property | Value | Property | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electronegativity | -- | Electron Affinity | -- |
| Electron Configuration | 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 4s2 3d10 4p6 5s2 4d10 5p6 6s2 4f14 5d10 6p6 7s2 5f14 6d10 7p2 | ||
| Oxidation States | (0), (1), (2), (4), (6) — (predicted) | ||
| Ionization Energies | Showing all 5 ionization energies.
| ||
History
Properties
Because so few atoms have been observed, the chemical and physical properties of flerovium remain largely unknown. Recent experiments suggest it may be a metal, though it has also exhibited properties consistent with noble gases.
Compounds
Flerovium compounds have not been observed and at this time are only predicted based on its proximity to lead on the periodic table.
Sources
Most observed flerovium atoms have been created by fusion within a particle accelerator. Others have occurred as transient decay products of heavier elements. To synthesize flerovium, a plutonium target is bombarded with calcium-48 atoms in the form of a high-speed beam. Producing the first flerovium atom took 40 days of bombarding plutonium-244 with billions of particles, at which point a calcium atom happened to fuse with an atom of plutonium. The resulting flerovium atom decayed 30.4 seconds later!