What is Livermorium
Livermorium is a synthetic chemical compound with symbol LV. It has an atomic weight of 116 and is radioactive.
Till now, it is only developed in the laboratory and has not been observed in nature. LV is named after Lawrence Livermorium National laboratory. It was in collaboration with the Joint Institute of Nuclear Research (JINR) in Dubna, Russia and was discovered in 2000 and experiments on it were carried between 2000 to 2006. IUPAC officially adopted its name on 3 May 2012.
Four isotopes of livermorium are discovered until now with mass numbers between 290 to 293. The longest lived isotope is lv-293 with life half-life of about 60 milliseconds, and there is the possibility of a fifth one as it has been reported to the laboratory but not yet confirmed and all its isotopes are highly radioactive and unstable.
It is the heaviest chalcogen (but has not been established to behave heavier homolog than chalcogen polonium) and is placed in group 16 and period 7.
It can be a post-transition metal (although it shows significant differences from them) and it has also shown to have similar properties to its lighter homologue (oxygen, sulfur, selenium, tellurium and polonium).
Livermorium is placed in the chalcogen family or chalcogen group.
Livermorium can be the heaviest chalcogen hydride and the heaviest homologue of water.
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Discovery of Livermorium
It was founded by the bombardment of curium 248 with accelerated calcium-48 ions. After experiment a single atom was detected, decaying by alpha emission with decay energy of 10.5 MeV to an isotope of flerovium and the results were published in 2000.
The compound found was taken as daughter isotope of flerovium and properties matching to flerovium first isotopes synthesized in 1999 and assigned to Fl 289 an assignment of parent livermorium. Later in December 2002 it was found that compound found was actually Fl-289 and thus was the assignment of synthesized parent livermorium lv-293
Further experiments in April-May in 2005 and experiments on flerovium its properties by different institutes lead to the discovery of livermorium
Equation of the experimental reaction was : Cm -248 + Ca - 48 → lv - 293 + 3 neutron →Fl - 289 + alpha particle
Using Mendeleev's nomenclature for undiscovered and unnamed elements, it is also called eka-polonium
Synthesis of livermorium was confirmed by GSI (2012) and RIKEN (2014 to 2016) [Riken is an institute in japan established in 1917].
Properties of Livermorium
Properties of livermorium are not known till yet as it decays very rapidly only predictions are made of it.
It belongs to p- block element and with an atomic number of 116 and is in a solid-state at 20-degree celsius.
Its colour is not known till know and presumed to be metallic/white/silvery white/grey.
Its electronic configuration is : [Rn]5f14 6d10 7s2 7p4
Its melting point and boiling point are not known.
But it is taken into consideration that it will follow the trend of melting and boiling point as in the chalcogen group and will have a melting point a little higher than polonium. It boils at a little lower temperature than polonium.
It is expected that it will be denser than polonium (alpha-LV:12.9 gm/cm cube while alpha polonium: 9.2 g/cm cube), and also like polonium, it will have alpha and a beta allotrope.
Its relative atomic mass is 293, and its crucial isotope is lv-293.
It is projected to be a 7p series of chemical elements and the heaviest element of group 16 under polonium.
It is also expected that it is near the centre of the island of stability centred on copernicium (element 112) to flerovium (component 114) {NOTE: island of stability are the predicated sets of isotopes of superheavy element who may have considerably longer half-lives than known isotopes of these elements and it is predicated that is like an island on nuclides)
Its valency is +2 the most stable oxidation state of the livermorium with rather a +4 unstable livermorium state.
The +2 stable oxidation state of livermorium is natural to achieve and would be accessible to with beryllium and magnesium while the +4 unstable oxidation state can only be achieved with potent electronegative ligands, such as livermorium (IV) fluoride (LvF4) it can least theoretically have a +6 oxidation state and can expand its octet as all chalcogen can (except oxygen which cannot develop).
Livermorium experiences inert pair effect, and it is more potent than experienced in polonium (the stabilization of the 7s electrons is known as inert pair effect).
And following the trend of the chalcogen group, it should be a hydride rather than a Livermore, but it will still be a covalent molecular compound.
Uses of Livermorium
Since livermorium has been discovered and synthesized also in the laboratory and it is not found in nature it has fewer atoms present and also it decays rapidly (within milliseconds) after being formed and even not much is known of this element and thus it has no commercial uses.
It's not used in commercial uses, but it is used extensively in the field of research to probe into the properties and other valuable insights on superheavy atoms.
Gained some information regarding the superheavy nuclei present in its atom by the synthesis of more livermorium isotopes (the isotopes of livermorium which were taken had few neutrons more or less than the known ones).
FAQs on Livermorium
1. What is Livermorium and where is it placed in the periodic table?
Livermorium (symbol Lv) is a synthetic, superheavy chemical element with an atomic number of 116. As it is synthetically created in laboratories and not found in nature, it is highly radioactive and unstable. In the periodic table, Livermorium is placed in Group 16 and Period 7, making it the heaviest member of the chalcogen group, positioned directly under Polonium.
2. Why was the element with atomic number 116 named Livermorium?
Element 116 was named Livermorium in honour of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) in Livermore, California. The discovery was a collaborative effort between scientists at LLNL and the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR) in Dubna, Russia. The name was officially approved by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) in 2012 to recognise the laboratory's significant contributions to the research of superheavy elements.
3. What is the predicted electron configuration of Livermorium (Lv)?
The predicted ground-state electron configuration for Livermorium is [Rn] 5f¹⁴ 6d¹⁰ 7s² 7p⁴. This configuration places it in the p-block of the periodic table and confirms its position as the heaviest element in Group 16, consistent with other chalcogens which also have four electrons in their outermost p-orbital.
4. How are the properties of Livermorium expected to compare with other chalcogens like Polonium?
While its properties are difficult to measure, Livermorium is expected to follow some periodic trends of the chalcogen group (Group 16), but with significant relativistic effects. Key comparisons include:
- Metallic Character: Livermorium is predicted to be a post-transition metal, showing more metallic character than its lighter homologue, Polonium.
- Oxidation States: Due to the inert pair effect, its most stable oxidation state is predicted to be +2, unlike the more common -2 state for lighter chalcogens. A +4 state is expected to be much less stable.
- Density: It is predicted to be significantly denser than Polonium, with an estimated density of around 12.9 g/cm³.
5. What are the primary uses of Livermorium?
Currently, Livermorium has no commercial or practical applications. Its extreme instability, rapid decay (with a half-life measured in milliseconds), and the high cost of production mean only a few atoms have ever been created. Its only use is for scientific research, where its synthesis and properties provide valuable data for understanding the limits of nuclear stability and the behaviour of superheavy elements.
6. Why is it so difficult to study the chemical properties of Livermorium?
Studying Livermorium's properties is extremely challenging due to a combination of factors:
- Extreme Instability: Its most stable known isotope, Lv-293, has a half-life of only about 60 milliseconds, meaning it decays almost instantly after being created.
- Low Production Rate: Synthesising Livermorium requires bombarding a target (like Curium-248) with ions (like Calcium-48) in a particle accelerator, a process that produces only a few atoms at a time.
- High Radioactivity: Its intense radioactivity makes it hazardous and difficult to handle safely.
Because of these challenges, most of its properties are theoretical predictions rather than experimentally confirmed values.
7. What does Livermorium decay into, and what is its half-life?
Livermorium primarily decays through alpha decay. For instance, the isotope Livermorium-293 (²⁹³Lv), which is the most stable known isotope, decays into Flerovium-289 (²⁸⁹Fl) by emitting an alpha particle. The half-life of ²⁹³Lv is extremely short, lasting only about 60 milliseconds. This rapid decay is a characteristic feature of most superheavy elements.
8. Despite its instability, what is the scientific importance of creating an element like Livermorium?
The synthesis of Livermorium is scientifically important not for its use, but for what it teaches us about fundamental physics and chemistry. Its creation helps scientists:
- Test the limits of the periodic table and our understanding of atomic structure.
- Explore the concept of the "island of stability", a theoretical region of superheavy isotopes with potentially longer half-lives.
- Verify and refine models of nuclear physics that predict the properties and decay modes of elements at the extremes of mass and proton number.
Essentially, Livermorium is a crucial stepping stone in the quest to understand the ultimate limits of matter.
