Research Moscow And nihonium expanded our understanding of superheavy elements and their potential applications by showing that they are more reactive than flares and subject to significant relativistic effects. An international team led by scientists from GSI/FAIR in Darmstadt, Johann Gutenberg University in Mainz and the Helmholtz Institute in Mainz has successfully determined the chemical properties of artificially created superheavy elements. Moscow And nihonium (articles 115 and 113).
Now Moscow It is the heaviest element ever subjected to chemical study. Their research, published in the journal Frontiers in Chemistry, shows that both elements are more chemically active than fleurium (element 114), which was previously studied at GSI/FAIR.
Investigating relative effects in chemistry
With this result, experiments at GSI/FAIR now provide data on three superheavy elements (113, 114 and 115), allowing a reliable classification of the properties of these elements and a prediction of the structure of the periodic table in this extreme region.
As elements become heavier, the large number of protons in the nucleus accelerate the electrons orbiting the nucleus to even higher speeds; so that effects that can only be explained by Einstein’s famous theory of relativity come into play. The tremendous speed makes the electrons heavier.
In lead (element 82), for example, the effects of such processes are already at work and contribute to the chemical processes in lead batteries. The neighbors on the left and right (thallium and bismuth) behave differently. Although the effect is small, it is localized on the lead. Could a superheavy element be the main alternative?
How about its heavier neighbor on the periodic table, flerovium, the 114th element discovered and chemically studied only in the last 20 years? It was determined that it was nothing like lead, that it easily turned into a gas and was less chemically reactive.
Finding the answers also required testing two neighboring elements, element 113, nigonium, and 115, moscow. Although previous studies of nigonium chemistry have been reported, a successful study of muscobium chemistry, where the most suitable isotope is present for only about 20 percent of a second, has not yet been achieved.
Advances in the synthesis of superheavy elements
This result has now been achieved thanks to international collaboration at the GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung in Darmstadt, Germany. The team reported that both neighbors, nigonium and muscovium, exhibited higher chemical reactivity than the intermediate, fleurovium. The local effect observed in lead is also observed in the fleurovium, but is much stronger; This is not surprising given the much higher nuclear charge.
It was enough to observe only a handful of atoms to obtain this result. However, this required two months of continuous operation at the GSI/FAIR Heavy Ion Accelerator. To produce the superheavy elements, the team irradiated a thin foil containing americium-243 (element 95), itself an artificial element, with intense beams of calcium-48 (element 20) ions. Their fusion led to the formation of moscovium-288 (element 115) nuclei, which decayed into nigonium-284 (element 113) in a fraction of a second.
Advanced experimental methods open the door to new ideas
An inert gas passed both elements through a detector matrix coated with a thin layer of quartz. The detectors record the decay of individual superheavy atoms and determine whether the atoms have formed a strong enough chemical bond with the quartz to keep them where they first hit the surface. Weaker binding leads to more gas transport.
Thus, the pattern recorded in the detector array provides information about the strength of chemical bonds, hence the chemical reactivity of the elements. Elements with low reactivity may even exit the array, but this means they will only encounter gold-plated detectors. The bonds with gold are generally stronger than those with quartz, ensuring that every atom examined is truly preserved and recorded.
Press secretary from GSI/FAIR, Dr. “Thanks to the newly developed chemical separation and detection setup combined with the TASCA electromagnetic separator, our gas chromatography studies can be extended to more reactive chemical elements such as nigonium and moscovium,” explains Oleksandr Yakushev. international cooperation. “We were able to increase the efficiency and reduce the time required for chemical separation to the point where we were able to observe the very short-lived moscowium-288 and its offspring at a faster rate of detecting about two atoms per week of nigonium-284.”
A total of four muscobium atoms were recorded in an array completely covered by quartz. Among the 14 nigonium atoms detected, precipitation was observed mainly on quartz, indicating that a chemical bond was formed. The fact that an atom reaches the gold-covered array shows that the quartz bond is not very strong. This differs from the behavior of the lighter homologs thallium (for nigonium) and bismuth (for muscovium), which are known to form strong bonds with quartz. Similarly, lead, a fleurovium homologue, forms strong bonds with quartz but does not form fleurovium.
The entire data set for these elements shows that superheavy elements are much less reactive than their lighter counterparts; This situation is explained by the inertia associated with the occurrence of relative effects. The most pronounced effect is observed locally in flerovium, which is still a metal but rather weakly reactive; this behavior indicates the existence of closed electron (sub)shells, almost like unreactive noble gases. The results demonstrate the impact of Einstein’s theory of relativity on the periodic table, while also setting a new record for the heaviest element ever chemically studied.
With technical progress, new requirements for materials arise. Can new elements contribute? Just as automobiles transition from fossil energy to electricity, other items in our daily lives are also being phased out, replaced by technology based on new materials. The first Flerovium-based device is coming soon. Currently, only one atom can be produced per week, and that takes less than a second. This may change as technology advances and larger quantities may become available over time. We don’t know whether they could be used in batteries in the future, as medical devices, or whether they could enrich our lives in ways unimaginable today. But thanks to pioneering experiments in Darmstadt, future researchers will be one step ahead and will already know the chemical nature of these new materials. The result also opens new perspectives for the international facility FAIR (Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research) under construction in Darmstadt.
Source: Port Altele
