Element

Tennessine Element Properties and Information

Published August 12, 2022 · Updated August 28, 2022

Tennessine Element Properties and Information

Tennessine is 117^th element on the periodic table. Elements are arranged in the periodic table on the basis of the atomic number. Atomic number is the number of protons in the nucleus of the atom. Tennessine has an atomic number of 117. It is located in the Group 17 and Period 7 of the periodic table of elements and denoted by the symbol ‘Ts’. Tennessine is named after the US state, Tennessee, where the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is located.

The discovery of Tennessine emerged in collaboration between the Joint Institute of Nuclear Research (JINR), Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). The ORNL was responsible for manufacturing the target material, berkelium, which they produced about 22 milligrams in 250 days. The berkelium was then transferred to Research Institute of Atomic Reactors (RIAR) where it was deposited as a 300 nm thin layer on a titanium film. After that, it was transferred to JINR where it was installed in the particle accelerator. The target was bombarded with calcium-48 and the data obtained from the experiment was sent to LLNL for analysis. The discovery was confirmed in 2010.

Tennessine does not occur naturally in Earth’s crust; it can only be prepared in a synthetic manner in particle accelerators. It cannot even be prepared in a nuclear reactor. All the isotopes of tennessine which have been characterized so far have been obtained synthetically.

Physical Properties

Tennessine is a radioactive element and the penultimate period-7 member on the periodic table.
The atomic mass of tennessine is unknown as of yet.
The melting point of tennessine is unknown as of yet.
The boiling point of tennessine is unknown as of yet.
The density of tennessine is unknown as of yet.
Apart from nuclear properties, no physical properties of tennessine have been studied so far owing to short half-lives of all its isotopes and also the expensive production.
The isotopes of tennessine are observed to last tens of hundreds of milliseconds.

Chemical Properties

Apart from nuclear properties, no chemical properties of tennessine have been studied so far owing to short half-lives of all its isotopes and also the expensive production.
Tennessine compounds are expected to have ‘+1’ as the most stable oxidation state.
Tennessine compounds are expected to have ‘+5’ and ‘+3’ as lesser stable oxidation states.
Tennessine compounds are expected to have ‘-1’ as the least stable oxidation state.
All the information about properties of tennessine comes from theoretical calculations.

Methods of Production

Particle Accelerators: All the elements which have atomic number greater than 100 can only be prepared through reactions in a particle accelerator such as a cyclotron; they are not formed in a nuclear reactor. Berkelium-249 bombarded with calcium-48 yields tennessine-293 and tennessine-294.