Ununennium

Ununennium (pronounced /ˌjuːnəˈnɛniəm/; officially, the two initial u's are to be pronounced /uː/ [1]), or eka-francium, is the temporary name of a hypothetical chemical element in the periodic table that has the temporary symbol Uue and has the atomic number 119. Since it is below the alkali metals it might have properties similar to those of francium or caesium. Like other alkali metals, it should be extremely reactive with water and air. A predicted oxidation state is 1.

Ununennium would be the first element in the eighth period of the periodic table and the seventh alkali metal.

Unsuccessful attempts at synthesis

The synthesis of ununennium was attempted in 1985 by bombarding a target of einsteinium-254 with calcium-48 ions at the superHILAC accelerator at Berkeley, California. No atoms were identified, leading to a limiting yield of 300 nb.[2]

\( \,^{254}_{99}\mathrm{Es} + \,^{48}_{20}\mathrm{Ca} \to \,^{302}_{119}\mathrm{Uue} ^{*} \to \ \ no\ atoms \)

It is highly unlikely that this reaction will be useful given the extremely difficult task of making sufficient amounts of Es-254 to make a large enough target to increase the sensitivity of the experiment to the required level, due to the rarity of the element, and extreme rarity of the isotope.

Predicted decay characteristics

The alpha-decay half-lives of 1700 nuclei with 100 ≤ Z ≤ 130 have been calculated in a quantum tunneling model with alpha-decay Q-values from different mass estimates.[3][4][5] The alpha-decay half-lives predicted for 291-307119 are of the order of micro-seconds. The highest value of the alpha-decay half-life predicted in the quantum tunneling model with the mass estimates from a macroscopic-microscopic model is ~485 microseconds for the isotope 294119. For 302119 it is ~163 microseconds.
Target-projectile combinations leading to Z=119 compound nuclei

The below table contains various combinations of targets and projectiles which could be used to form compound nuclei with an atomic number of 119.

Theoretical calculations on evaporation cross sections

The below table contains various targets-projectile combinations for which calculations have provided estimates for cross section yields from various neutron evaporation channels. The channel with the highest expected yield is given.

DNS = Di-nuclear system; σ = cross section

See also

* Ununoctium–Unbinilium
* Extension of the periodic table beyond the seventh period

References

1. ^ J. Chatt (1979). "Recommendations for the Naming of Elements of Atomic Numbers Greater than 100". Pure Appl. Chem. 51: 381–384. doi:10.1351/pac197951020381.
2. ^ R. W. Lougheed, J. H. Landrum, E. K. Hulet, J. F. Wild, R. J. Dougan, A. D. Dougan, H. Gäggeler, M. Schädel, K. J. Moody, K. E. Gregorich, and G. T. Seaborg (1985). "Search for superheavy elements using 48Ca + 254Esg reaction". Physical Reviews C 32: 1760–1763. doi:10.1103/PhysRevC.32.1760. http://link.aps.org/abstract/PRC/v32/p1760.
3. ^ C. Samanta, P. Roy Chowdhury and D.N. Basu (2007). "Predictions of alpha decay half lives of heavy and superheavy elements". Nucl. Phys. A 789: 142–154. doi:10.1016/j.nuclphysa.2007.04.001.
4. ^ P. Roy Chowdhury, C. Samanta, and D. N. Basu (2008). "Search for long lived heaviest nuclei beyond the valley of stability". Phys. Rev. C 77: 044603. doi:10.1103/PhysRevC.77.044603.
5. ^ P. Roy Chowdhury, C. Samanta, and D. N. Basu (2008). "Nuclear half-lives for α -radioactivity of elements with 100 ≤ Z ≤ 130". At. Data & Nucl. Data Tables 94: 781–806. doi:10.1016/j.adt.2008.01.003.
6. ^ Feng, Z (2009). "Production of heavy and superheavy nuclei in massive fusion reactions". Nuclear Physics A 816: 33. doi:10.1016/j.nuclphysa.2008.11.003. http://arxiv.org/pdf/0803.1117.