First Study on Nihonium (Nh, Element 113) Chemistry at TASCA

Abstract

Nihonium (Nh, element 113) and flerovium (Fl, element 114) are the first superheavy elements in which the 7p shell is occupied. High volatility and inertness were predicted for Fl due to the strong relativistic stabilization of the closed 7p1/2 sub-shell, which originates from a large spin-orbit splitting between the 7p1/2 and 7p3/2 orbitals. One unpaired electron in the outermost 7p1/2 sub-shell in Nh is expected to give rise to a higher chemical reactivity. Theoretical predictions of Nh reactivity are discussed, along with results of the first experimental attempts to study Nh chemistry in the gas phase. The experimental observations verify a higher chemical reactivity of Nh atoms compared to its neighbor Fl and call for the development of advanced setups. First tests of a newly developed detection device miniCOMPACT with highly reactive Fr isotopes assure that effective chemical studies of Nh are within reach.

Relativistic coupled cluster calculations of the electron affinity and ionization potential of Nh(113)

“…6 Nihonium (Nh, Z = 113), the first element of the heaviest 7p-block of the Periodic Table, was first synthesized in 2004 using the cold fusion reaction of lead with a bismuth target. 7 The volatility of Nh was investigated experimentally through its adsorption on gold and quartz surfaces, [8][9][10][11] but no atomic or molecular properties of this element have been measured so far.…”

Reactivity of Group 13 Elements Tl and Element 113, Nh, and of Their Hydroxides with Respect to Various Quartz Surfaces from Periodic Relativistic DFT Calculations

“…In another gas-phase chromatography experiment, however, no decay chains of Nh were observed after physical preseparation that should have excluded formation of NhOH in a reaction with quartz . The complexity of the chemistry of Nh and difficulties connected with the measurements of its Δ H ads were also discussed in a recent work …”

“…10 The complexity of the chemistry of Nh and difficulties connected with the measurements of its ΔH ads were also discussed in a recent work. 11 We have published a number of works on theoretical studies of properties and experimental behavior of group 13 elements In, Tl, and Nh (see reviews 2,3,22 ). On the basis of the results of the above-mentioned DC atomic calculations, the probability of delivery of the Tl and Nh atoms from the target chamber to the chemistry setup through Teflon capillaries was estimated using an adsorption model.…”

“…Significant progress has been achieved in investigations of chemical properties of man-made superheavy elements (SHEs). − Presently, elements 112 (Cn) and 114 (Fl), having sufficiently long lifetimes of their isotopes, are chemically characterized. Gas-phase chemical experiments on Cn and Fl have shown that these elements are very volatile and follow trends in properties in group 12 and 14, respectively. − The high volatility of these elements is caused by relativistic effects on their valence atomic orbitals (AOs) making the latter less accessible for chemical bonding. , First attempts to chemically characterize element 113, Nh, in the gas phase have meanwhile been reported. − The isotope 284 Nh is a product of the α-decay of the isotope 288 Mc, synthesized in a nuclear reaction of a 48 Ca beam with an 243 Am or a 249 Bk target. It has a half-life t 1/2 = 0.97 –0.17 +0.58 s …”

Relativistic coupled cluster calculations of the electron affinity and ionization potential of Nh(113)

“…Nihonium (Nh, Z = 113), the first element of the heaviest 7p-block of the periodic table, was first synthesized in 2004 using the cold fusion reaction of lead with a bismuth target [7]. The volatility of Nh was investigated experimentally through its adsorption on gold and quartz surfaces [8][9][10][11], but no atomic or molecular properties of this element have been measured so far due to its short half-life. Theoretical analysis of Nh spectroscopic properties will guideline such atomic experiments and provide an explanation on the observation in the future.…”