Flerovium
Element 114 · Post-Transition Metal
Flerovium is the group 14 transactinide, the superheavy counterpart of lead. First produced in 1999 at Dubna, Russia, it sits near the long-sought island of stability where extra-stable superheavy nuclei are predicted. Single-atom experiments suggest it is surprisingly volatile and unreactive, behaving less like lead than expected. Its longest-lived isotope survives about 2.7 seconds. Properties are predicted, with limited experimental data. Flerovium is radioactive, with its longest-lived isotope surviving a few seconds.
Key facts
| Atomic number | 114 |
|---|---|
| Atomic weight | [289] |
| Category | Post-Transition Metal |
| Group / Period | 14 / 7 |
| Block | p |
| Electron configuration | [Rn] 5f14 6d10 7s2 7p2 (predicted) |
| Common oxidation states | +2 (predicted) |
| State at STP | Solid |
Occurrence
Flerovium is entirely synthetic, made by fusing plutonium-244 with calcium-48 in accelerators.
Applications
Probing the island of stability
Single-atom volatility and reactivity studies
No commercial applications
Common compounds
- Flerovium compounds (predicted, none observed)
Flerovium is named after the Flerov Laboratory in Dubna, Russia, founded by Georgy Flyorov, a pioneer of superheavy element research.
Data source: IUPAC standard atomic weights 2021