Element

Flerovium Element Properties and Information

Published August 16, 2022 · Updated August 28, 2022

Flerovium Element Properties and Information

Flerovium is 114^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. Flerovium has an atomic number of 114. It is located in the Group 14 and Period 7 of the periodic table of elements and denoted by the symbol ‘Fl’. Flerovium is named after the physicist Georgy Flerov, the founder of the Joint Institute of Nuclear Research (JINR).

Flerovium was discovered as a consequence of joint initiative between the Joint Institute of Nuclear Research (JINR) and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). The scientists working on this joint project produced the element-114 in 1998 by bombarding plutonium with calcium. It took 5 billion billion atoms of calcium to produce a single atom of flerovium; and the experiment lasted 40 days. Flerovium 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 flerovium which have been characterized so far have been obtained synthetically.

Physical Properties

Flerovium is a superheavy artificial chemical element which is highly radioactive in nature.
The atomic mass of flerovium is 289.
The melting point of flerovium is predicted to be about 70°C.
The boiling point of flerovium is predicted to be about 150°C.
The density of flerovium is unknown as of yet.
Very few physical properties of flerovium have been studied so far owing to short half-lives of all its isotopes, the expensive production, and also quick-decay nature of the parent chain.
Flerovium is expected to be a gas at normal conditions; just like copernicium.
Flerovium is expected to crystallize in a face-centered cubic structure.
The longest-lived flerovium isotope, flerovium-289, has a half-life of 2.6 seconds.
A flerovium isotope, flerovium-298, of longer half-life is predicted but not yet been made.

Chemical Properties

Flerovium’s is currently the heaviest element to have its chemistry investigated experimentally.
Flerovium’s chemical investigation has not reached any conclusion so far.
Flerovium compounds exhibiting the ‘+2’ oxidation state are expected to be highly stable.
Flerovium compounds exhibiting the ‘+4’ oxidation state are expected to be highly unstable.
Flerovium is the least reactive element in its respective group.
The behavior of flerovium and copernicium is more metal-like than noble gas-like; they have been categorized into a new classification called ‘Volatile Metals’.

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. Plutonium-244 bombarded with calcium-48 yields flerovium-290.