Ununoctium

Isolation

Unsuccessful attempts

In late 1998, the Polish theoreticist Robert Smolanczuk published some calculations on the fusion of atomic nuclei towards the synthesis of superheavy atoms, including the element 118.^[11] His calculations suggested that it might be possible to make element 118 by fusing krypton under carefully controlled conditions.^[12]

In 1999, researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory made use of these predictions and announced the discovery of elements 116 and 118, in a paper published in Physical Review Letters,^[13] and very soon after the results were reported in Science.^[14] The researchers claimed to have performed the reaction:

The following year, they published a retraction after other researchers were unable to duplicate the results.^[15] In June 2002, the director of the lab announced that the original claim of the discovery of these two elements had been based on data fabricated by principal author Victor Ninov.^[16] The American group had intended to name it ghiorsium after Albert Ghiorso (a member of the research team) before having to retract their claim.^[17]

Discovery

On October 16, 2006, researchers from Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR) and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory of California, USA, working at the JINR in Dubna, Russia, announced in Physical Review C that they had indirectly detected a total of three nuclei of ununoctium-294 (one in 2002^[18] and two more in 2005) produced via collisions of calcium-48 ions:^{[19][20][21][22][23]}

 

Because of the very small fusion reaction probability (the fusion californium target to produce the single recorded event believed to be the synthesis of the element 118.^[1] Nevertheless, researchers are highly confident that the result is not a false positive, since the chance that the detection was a random event was estimated to be less than one part in 100,000.^[24]

In the experiment, the decay products of three atoms of ununoctium, rather than the atoms themselves, were observed. A alpha decay. Since there were only three nuclei, the half-life was derived from observed lifetimes and has a large uncertainty: 0.89_-0.31^+1.07 ms.^[5]

The identification of the ²⁹⁴Uuo nuclei was verified by separately creating the putative daughter nucleus ²⁹⁰Uuh by means of a bombardment of ²⁴⁵Ca ions,

and checking that the ²⁹⁰Uuh decay matched the decay chain of the ²⁹⁴Uuo nuclei.^[5] The daughter nucleus ²⁹⁰Uuh is very unstable, decaying with a half-life of 14 milliseconds into ²⁸⁶Uub, which will undergo spontaneous fission.^[5]  

Characteristics

 

Stability

Although the superheavy elements such as element 118 last longer than predicted.^[26]

Chemistry

Ununoctium has all its electrons in a uranium hexafluoride (UF₆) with a molecular mass of 352 would surpass it.

Since only three atoms of ununoctium have ever been produced, it currently has no uses outside of basic scientific research. Also, because it does not occur at all in the biosphere it never presents a risk, but it would constitute a radiation hazard if enough was ever assembled in one place.^[28]

References

See also

• Discoveries of the chemical elements
• Transuranic element
• Isotopes of ununoctium
• Ununhexium