Berkelium
Element 97 · Actinide
Berkelium is a soft, silvery synthetic metal produced only in microgram to milligram amounts. It is intensely radioactive, with berkelium-247 having a half-life of about 1,380 years. Its chemistry resembles terbium, its lanthanide counterpart. Because it is so scarce, berkelium's main value is as a target material: bombarding it with calcium ions produced element 117, tennessine.
Key facts
| Atomic number | 97 |
|---|---|
| Atomic weight | [247] |
| Category | Actinide |
| Group / Period | — / 7 |
| Block | f |
| Electron configuration | [Rn] 5f9 7s2 |
| Common oxidation states | +3, +4 |
| State at STP | Solid |
| Electronegativity | 1.3 |
| Density | 14.78 g/cm3 |
| Melting point | 986 °C |
| Boiling point | 2627 °C (estimated) |
Occurrence
Berkelium is entirely synthetic, produced in tiny amounts by prolonged neutron irradiation of americium or curium in high-flux reactors such as Oak Ridge's.
Applications
Target material for synthesizing superheavy elements (tennessine)
Fundamental research on actinide electronic structure
No commercial applications
Common compounds
- Berkelium dioxide (BkO2)
- Berkelium trichloride (BkCl3)
- Berkelium(III) oxide (Bk2O3)
Berkelium was discovered in 1949 by Glenn Seaborg's Berkeley team and named after Berkeley, California, where it was first made.
Data source: IUPAC standard atomic weights 2021