Element

Nihonium Element Properties and Information

Published August 16, 2022 · Updated August 28, 2022

Nihonium Element Properties and Information

Nihonium is 113^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. Nihonium has an atomic number of 113. It is located in the Group 13 and Period 7 of the periodic table of elements and denoted by the symbol ‘Nh’. Nihonium is named after the country, Japan, where it was first synthesized; other name of Japan is Nihon.

The Joint Institute of Nuclear Research (JINR) claimed in 1999 that they found a decay chain which yields isotope-290 of element-113 using hot-fusion technique: various research groups tried to reproduce the chain but they were all unsuccessful and the result was never confirmed to be true. RIKEN, the Institute of Physical and Chemical Research in Japan, is credited with the discovery of element-113, Nihonium. A team led by Kōsuke Morita began bombarding bismuth with zinc in September 2003 and found single atom of nihonium-278 in July 2004. Nihonium 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 nihonium which have been characterized so far have been obtained synthetically.

Physical Properties

Nihonium is a synthetic chemical element which is so radioactive that all of its isotopes decay very quickly.
The atomic mass of nihonium is unknown as of yet.
The melting point of nihonim is predicted to be 430°C.
The boiling point of nihonium is predicted to be 1100°C.
The density of nihonium is unknown as of yet.
Very few physical properties of nihonium 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.
Nihonium is expected to have a hexagonal close-packed structure.
The longest-lived nihonium isotope has a half-life of about 10 seconds.

Chemical Properties

Nihonium’s chemical properties have largely been obtained through theoretical calculations.
Nihonium compounds are expected to have ‘+1’ as the most stable oxidation state.
Higher oxidation states for nihonium, +3 and +5, are also suggested but they are expected to be relatively less stable than the ‘+1’ oxidation state.
Nihonium’s adsorption behaviour on gold surfaces is expected to be similar to that of astatine.
The unambiguous determination of the chemical characteristics of nihonium is yet to be established.

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. Bismuth-209 bombarded with zinc-70 yields nihonium-278.