How Was Nihonium Discovered? Insights and Key Experiments
Element 113
Nihonium is a recently discovered element which came into the existence in 2003. Today, 118 elements are known to us. 94 elements out of these are naturally occurring whereas elements from atomic number 95 to 118 are synthetic elements. Synthetic elements are those elements which are artificially made by researchers and scientists. Nihonium is also a synthetic element. This element is extremely radioactive and has a half-life of 10 sec. This means in 10 seconds it reduces to half of its quantity. It is placed in the p-block of the periodic table. Nihonium isotopes are quite unstable and only Nh-286 is found stable.
Nh Element
Symbol of Nihonium- Nh
The atomic number of nh-113
Atomic Mass of nh - 286
Group- 13
Period-7
Electronic configuration-[Rn]5f¹⁴6d¹⁰7s²7p¹
Discovery of the Element 113
Nihonium was first invented by Russian American collaboration JINR-JOINT INSTITUTE FOR NUCLEAR RESEARCH in Dubna, Russia in 2003 and then by RIKEN collaboration of Japan in 2004. In 2015, IUPAC-International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry, recognized it as an element and gave rights for the discovery and naming to Riken. Thus Riken named element 113 as 'Nihonium' to honor Japan as 'Nihon’ refers to Japan.
Experimentation
Nihonium was synthesized by the bombardment of calcium ions on the element Americium with the atomic number 95 in the cyclotron. This lead to the formation of Moscovium which has an atomic number of 115.
This element of moscovium undergoes an alpha decay process to form nihonium.
A very small amount of the element has been created till now.
Ununtrium
Nihonium is also known as the ununtrium. This name of Nihonium comes from the nomenclature rules proposed by IUPAC.
According to these rules, elements that have an atomic number greater than 100 are named using certain codes decided by the IUPAC. By the systematic naming, those metals which are not discovered can also be named as the names are directly derived by the atomic number of the element itself.
Following is the Set of Codes for Numbers in Atomic Number-
Thus Following this Code Nihonium gets its Name as Ununtrium.
ATOMIC No. of Nh= 1 1 3
↓ ↓ ↓
un un tri + um
↓
ununtrium (Uut)
Properties of Element 113
Most of the properties of niobium are only predicted as it is short-lived. Some of the properties are as follows-
Nihonium is found to be solid at temperature 20°C.
The melting point, boiling point, and density of nihonium are unknown but they are predicted to be greater than its group members.
Nh element belongs to the boron group(13 groups) of periodic table so its properties are assumed to resemble thallium.
It is assumed to be denser than the thallium.
Due to the spin-orbit splitting of 7p shell nihonium is chemically different from thallium and other elements of group 13.
It is present in the 7th period of the periodic table.
The crystal structure of Nihonium is assumed to be hexagonal close packing-hcp.
Nihonium is not found naturally. It is considered to be entirely synthetic.
Its oxidation states are assumed to be +1,-1 +3, and +5.
Nihonium is assumed to have a size greater than thallium following the group trend.
It is considered to be a transactinide element.
Uses of Nihonium
It is used only for scientific research.No other use of Nihonium is known till now.
Effect on Health
As compared to the other elements in the periodic table, until now there is no considerable reason given for stating the harmful effects of Nihonium. It is because they are highly unstable and exhibit a short span of the half-life.
Isotopes of Nihonium
Isotopes are those elements which are considered to have the same atomic number but different atomic mass.
Nihonium also has 6 chemically synthesized isotopes from Nh²⁷⁸ to Nh²⁸⁶. Other than these two more isotopes are unconfirmed Nh²⁸⁷ and Nh²⁹⁰.
Nh²⁸⁶ is the most stable as compared to others to all the other isotopes of Nihonium.
FAQs on Nihonium: Discovery, Properties, and Applications
1. What is Nihonium and where is it placed in the periodic table?
Nihonium (symbol Nh) is a synthetic, superheavy chemical element with atomic number 113. It does not occur naturally and is produced artificially in laboratories. In the periodic table, it is classified as a p-block element and is located in Group 13 and Period 7, directly below thallium.
2. How was Nihonium officially discovered and named?
Nihonium was officially discovered by a team of scientists at the RIKEN research institute in Japan. They synthesized it in 2004 by bombarding a bismuth-209 target with accelerated zinc-70 nuclei. The name 'Nihonium' and its symbol 'Nh' are derived from 'Nihon', a Japanese name for Japan, honouring the nation of its discovery.
3. What are the predicted properties of Nihonium?
Since only a few atoms of Nihonium have ever been made, its properties are mainly theoretical predictions. Key expected properties include:
Physical State: Predicted to be a solid at standard temperature and pressure.
Metallic Character: It is classified as a post-transition metal.
Radioactivity: Nihonium is extremely radioactive, with its most stable known isotope having a very short half-life.
Density: It is expected to be a very dense element, with a predicted density of around 16 g/cm³.
4. What is the expected electron configuration of Nihonium?
The expected electron configuration for Nihonium (Nh), based on its atomic number of 113, is [Rn] 5f¹⁴ 6d¹⁰ 7s² 7p¹. This configuration, with three valence electrons in the seventh shell, confirms its position in Group 13 of the periodic table.
5. Are there any practical applications of Nihonium?
Currently, Nihonium has no practical uses or applications outside of fundamental scientific research. Its extreme instability and the difficulty in producing it mean its sole purpose is to help scientists expand the periodic table and understand the behaviour of superheavy elements.
6. Why was Nihonium previously called Ununtrium and Eka-thallium?
Before its official confirmation and naming, Nihonium was known by two placeholder names. It was called Ununtrium (symbol Uut) according to the IUPAC systematic naming convention, where 'un-un-tri' means 'one-one-three' (113). It was also referred to as eka-thallium, a name based on Mendeleev's periodic law, indicating it was the element located one position below thallium in the same group.
7. How are the properties of Nihonium expected to differ from other Group 13 elements like Thallium?
While Nihonium is in Group 13, its properties are predicted to differ from lighter elements like thallium due to strong relativistic effects, which alter electron orbital behaviour in superheavy atoms. Because of this, Nihonium's +1 oxidation state is expected to be more stable than its +3 state, a trend that starts with thallium but becomes much more pronounced for Nh. It is also predicted to be less reactive than thallium.
8. Why is Nihonium classified as a transactinide element?
Nihonium is classified as a transactinide element because its atomic number (113) is higher than that of the last actinide element, Lawrencium (atomic number 103). The transactinides are all the elements that lie beyond the actinide series in the periodic table. A key characteristic of these elements is that they are all synthetic, highly radioactive, and have extremely short half-lives.
9. What makes the synthesis of superheavy elements like Nihonium so challenging?
The synthesis of superheavy elements like Nihonium is incredibly challenging because it involves forcing two smaller atomic nuclei to merge. This process, known as nuclear fusion, has a very low probability of success. Scientists must use powerful particle accelerators to bombard a heavy target element with a beam of lighter nuclei. Even when fusion occurs, the resulting superheavy nucleus is highly unstable and decays in fractions of a second, making its detection and identification extremely difficult.
10. Given its extreme instability, how do scientists study the chemical properties of an element like Nihonium?
Scientists cannot perform traditional chemistry on Nihonium because it decays too quickly. Instead, they use a technique called 'atom-at-a-time' chemistry. This involves producing a single atom of Nihonium and analysing its behaviour and decay products as it passes through a detector. By observing its decay chain and how it interacts with surfaces or other atoms, they can infer its chemical properties, such as its likely oxidation states and reactivity, and compare them with theoretical predictions.
