Darmstadtium is a chemical element with the symbol Ds and atomic number 110.

It is
an extremely radioactive synthetic element. The most stable known isotope,
darmstadtium-281, has a half-life of approximately 12.7 seconds. Darmstadtium was
first created in 1994 by the GSI Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research in the
city of Darmstadt, Germany, after which it was named.

In the periodic table, it is a d-block transactinide element. It is a member of the

7th period and is placed in the group 10 elements, although no chemical experiments
have yet been carried out to confirm that it behaves as the heavier homologue to
platinum in group 10 as the eighth member of the 6d series of transition metals.
Darmstadtium is calculated to have similar properties to its lighter homologues,
nickel, palladium, and platinum.

Contents
1 Introduction
2 History
2.1 Discovery
2.2 Naming
3 Isotopes
3.1 Stability and half-lives
4 Predicted properties
4.1 Chemical
4.2 Physical and atomic
5 Experimental chemistry
6 See also
7 Notes
8 References
9 Bibliography
10 External links
Introduction
This section is transcluded from Introduction to the heaviest elements. (edit |
history)
See also: Superheavy element § Introduction
A graphic depiction of a nuclear fusion reaction
A graphic depiction of a nuclear fusion reaction. Two nuclei fuse into one,
emitting a neutron. Thus far, reactions that created new elements were similar,
with the only possible difference that several singular neutrons sometimes were
released, or none at all.
External video
video icon Visualization of unsuccessful nuclear fusion, based on calculations by
the Australian National University[9]
The heaviest[a] atomic nuclei are created in nuclear reactions that combine two
other nuclei of unequal size[b] into one; roughly, the more unequal the two nuclei
in terms of mass, the greater the possibility that the two react.[15] The material
made of the heavier nuclei is made into a target, which is then bombarded by the
beam of lighter nuclei. Two nuclei can only fuse into one if they approach each
other closely enough; normally, nuclei (all positively charged) repel each other
due to electrostatic repulsion. The strong interaction can overcome this repulsion
but only within a very short distance from a nucleus; beam nuclei are thus greatly
accelerated in order to make such repulsion insignificant compared to the velocity
of the beam nucleus.[16] Coming close alone is not enough for two nuclei to fuse:
when two nuclei approach each other, they usually remain together for approximately
10−20 seconds and then part ways (not necessarily in the same composition as before
the reaction) rather than form a single nucleus.[16][17] If fusion does occur, the
temporary merger—termed a compound nucleus—is an excited state. To lose its
excitation energy and reach a more stable state, a compound nucleus either fissions
or ejects one or several neutrons,[c] which carry away the energy. This occurs in
approximately 10−16 seconds after the initial collision.[18][d]
The beam passes through the target and reaches the next chamber, the separator; if
a new nucleus is produced, it is carried with this beam.[21] In the separator, the
newly produced nucleus is separated from other nuclides (that of the original beam
and any other reaction products)[e] and transferred to a surface-barrier detector,
which stops the nucleus. The exact location of the upcoming impact on the detector
is marked; also marked are its energy and the time of the arrival.[21] The transfer
takes about 10−6 seconds; in order to be detected, the nucleus must survive this
long.[24] The nucleus is recorded again once its decay is registered, and the
location, the energy, and the time of the decay are measured.[21]

Stability of a nucleus is provided by the strong interaction. However, its range is

very short; as nuclei become larger, their influence on the outermost nucleons
(protons and neutrons) weakens. At the same time, the nucleus is torn apart by
electrostatic repulsion between protons, as it has unlimited range.[25] Nuclei of
the heaviest elements are thus theoretically predicted[26] and have so far been
observed[27] to primarily decay via decay modes that are caused by such repulsion:
alpha decay and spontaneous fission;[f] these modes are predominant for nuclei of
superheavy elements. Alpha decays are registered by the emitted alpha particles,
and the decay products are easy to determine before the actual decay; if such a
decay or a series of consecutive decays produces a known nucleus, the original
product of a reaction can be determined arithmetically.[g] Spontaneous fission,
however, produces various nuclei as products, so the original nuclide cannot be
determined from its daughters.[h]

The information available to physicists aiming to synthesize one of the heaviest

elements is thus the information collected at the detectors: location, energy, and
time of arrival of a particle to the detector, and those of its decay. The
physicists analyze this data and seek to conclude that it was indeed caused by a
new element and could not have been caused by a different nuclide than the one
claimed. Often, provided data is insufficient for a conclusion that a new element
was definitely created and there is no other explanation for the observed effects;
errors in interpreting data have been made.[i]

History

The city center of Darmstadt, the namesake of darmstadtium

Discovery
Darmstadtium was first created on November 9, 1994, at the Institute for Heavy Ion
Research (Gesellschaft für Schwerionenforschung, GSI) in Darmstadt, Germany, by
Peter Armbruster and Gottfried Münzenberg, under the direction of Sigurd Hofmann.
The team bombarded a lead-208 target with accelerated nuclei of nickel-62 in a
heavy ion accelerator and detected a single atom of the isotope darmstadtium-269:
[39]

208
82Pb + 62
28Ni → 269
110Ds + 1
0n

Two more atoms followed on November 12 and 17.[39] (Yet another was originally
reported to have been found on November 11, but it turned out to be based on data
fabricated by Victor Ninov, and was then retracted.)[40]

In the same series of experiments, the same team also carried out the reaction
using heavier nickel-64 ions. During two runs, 9 atoms of 271
Ds were convincingly detected by correlation with known daughter decay properties:
[41]
208
82Pb + 64
28Ni → 271
110Ds + 1
0n

Prior to this, there had been failed synthesis attempts in 1986–87 at the Joint
Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna (then in the Soviet Union) and in 1990 at
the GSI. A 1995 attempt at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory resulted in
signs suggesting but not pointing conclusively at the discovery of a new isotope
267
Ds formed in the bombardment of 209
Bi with 59
Co, and a similarly inconclusive 1994 attempt at the JINR showed signs of 273
Ds being produced from 244
Pu and 34
S. Each team proposed its own name for element 110: the American team proposed
hahnium after Otto Hahn in an attempt to resolve the situation on element 105
(which they had long been suggesting this name for), the Russian team proposed
becquerelium after Henri Becquerel, and the German team proposed darmstadtium after
Darmstadt, the location of their institute.[42] The IUPAC/IUPAP Joint Working Party
(JWP) recognised the GSI team as discoverers in their 2001 report, giving them the
right to suggest a name for the element.[43]

Naming
Using Mendeleev's nomenclature for unnamed and undiscovered elements, darmstadtium
should be known as eka-platinum. In 1979, IUPAC published recommendations according
to which the element was to be called ununnilium (with the corresponding symbol of
Uun),[44] a systematic element name as a placeholder, until the element was
discovered (and the discovery then confirmed) and a permanent name was decided on.
Although widely used in the chemical community on all levels, from chemistry
classrooms to advanced textbooks, the recommendations were mostly ignored among
scientists in the field, who called it "element 110", with the symbol of E110,
(110) or even simply 110.[3]

In 1996, the Russian team proposed the name becquerelium after Henri Becquerel.[45]
The American team in 1997 proposed the name hahnium[46] after Otto Hahn (previously
this name had been used for element 105).

The name darmstadtium (Ds) was suggested by the GSI team in honor of the city of
Darmstadt, where the element was discovered.[47][48] The GSI team originally also
considered naming the element wixhausium, after the suburb of Darmstadt known as
Wixhausen where the element was discovered, but eventually decided on darmstadtium.
[49] Policium had also been proposed as a joke due to the emergency telephone
number in Germany being 1-1-0. The new name darmstadtium was officially recommended
by IUPAC on August 16, 2003.[47]

Isotopes
List of darmstadtium isotopes
Isotope Half-life[j] Decay
mode Discovery
year[50] Discovery
reaction[51]
Value Ref
267Ds[k] 10 µs [50] α 1994 209Bi(59Co,n)
269Ds 230 µs [50] α 1994 208Pb(62Ni,n)
270Ds 205 µs [50] α 2000 207Pb(64Ni,n)
270mDs 10 ms [50] α 2000 207Pb(64Ni,n)
271Ds 90 ms [50] α 1994 208Pb(64Ni,n)
271mDs 1.7 ms [50] α 1994 208Pb(64Ni,n)
273Ds 240 µs [50] α 1996 244Pu(34S,5n)[52]
277Ds 3.5 ms [53] α 2010 285Fl(—,2α)
279Ds 210 ms [54] SF, α 2003 287Fl(—,2α)
280Ds[55] 360 µs [56][57][58] SF 2021 288Fl(—,2α)
281Ds 12.7 s [54] SF, α 2004 289Fl(—,2α)
281mDs[k] 900 ms [50] α 2012 293mLv(—,3α)
Main article: Isotopes of darmstadtium
Darmstadtium has no stable or naturally occurring isotopes. Several radioactive
isotopes have been synthesized in the laboratory, either by fusing two atoms or by
observing the decay of heavier elements. Nine different isotopes of darmstadtium
have been reported with atomic masses 267, 269–271, 273, 277, and 279–281, although
darmstadtium-267 is unconfirmed. Three darmstadtium isotopes, darmstadtium-270,
darmstadtium-271, and darmstadtium-281, have known metastable states, although that
of darmstadtium-281 is unconfirmed.[59] Most of these decay predominantly through
alpha decay, but some undergo spontaneous fission.[60]

Stability and half-lives

This chart of decay modes according to the model of the Japan Atomic Energy Agency
predicts several superheavy nuclides within the island of stability having total
half-lives exceeding one year (circled) and undergoing primarily alpha decay,
peaking at 294Ds with an estimated half-life of 300 years.[61]
All darmstadtium isotopes are extremely unstable and radioactive; in general, the
heavier isotopes are more stable than the lighter. The most stable known
darmstadtium isotope, 281Ds, is also the heaviest known darmstadtium isotope; it
has a half-life of 12.7 seconds. The isotope 279Ds has a half-life of 0.18 seconds,
while the unconfirmed 281mDs has a half-life of 0.9 seconds. The remaining seven
isotopes and two metastable states have half-lives between 1 microsecond and 70
milliseconds.[60] Some unknown darmstadtium isotopes may have longer half-lives,
however.[62]

Theoretical calculation in a quantum tunneling model reproduces the experimental

alpha decay half-life data for the known darmstadtium isotopes.[63][64] It also
predicts that the undiscovered isotope 294Ds, which has a magic number of neutrons
(184),[3] would have an alpha decay half-life on the order of 311 years; exactly
the same approach predicts a ~350-year alpha half-life for the non-magic 293Ds
isotope, however.[62][65]

Predicted properties
Other than nuclear properties, no properties of darmstadtium or its compounds have
been measured; this is due to its extremely limited and expensive production[15]
and the fact that darmstadtium (and its parents) decays very quickly. Properties of
darmstadtium metal remain unknown and only predictions are available.

Chemical
Darmstadtium is the eighth member of the 6d series of transition metals, and should
be much like the platinum group metals.[48] Calculations on its ionization
potentials and atomic and ionic radii are similar to that of its lighter homologue
platinum, thus implying that darmstadtium's basic properties will resemble those of
the other group 10 elements, nickel, palladium, and platinum.[3]

Prediction of the probable chemical properties of darmstadtium has not received

much attention recently. Darmstadtium should be a very noble metal. The predicted
standard reduction potential for the Ds2+/Ds couple is 1.7 V.[3] Based on the most
stable oxidation states of the lighter group 10 elements, the most stable oxidation
states of darmstadtium are predicted to be the +6, +4, and +2 states; however, the
neutral state is predicted to be the most stable in aqueous solutions. In
comparison, only palladium and platinum are known to show the maximum oxidation
state in the group, +6, while the most stable states are +4 and +2 for both nickel
and palladium. It is further expected that the maximum oxidation states of elements
from bohrium (element 107) to darmstadtium (element 110) may be stable in the gas
phase but not in aqueous solution.[3] Darmstadtium hexafluoride (DsF6) is predicted
to have very similar properties to its lighter homologue platinum hexafluoride
(PtF6), having very similar electronic structures and ionization potentials.[3][66]
[67] It is also expected to have the same octahedral molecular geometry as PtF6.
[68] Other predicted darmstadtium compounds are darmstadtium carbide (DsC) and
darmstadtium tetrachloride (DsCl4), both of which are expected to behave like their
lighter homologues.[68] Unlike platinum, which preferentially forms a cyanide
complex in its +2 oxidation state, Pt(CN)2, darmstadtium is expected to
preferentially remain in its neutral state and form Ds(CN)2−
2 instead, forming a strong Ds–C bond with some multiple bond character.[69]

Physical and atomic

Darmstadtium is expected to be a solid under normal conditions and to crystallize
in the body-centered cubic structure, unlike its lighter congeners which
crystallize in the face-centered cubic structure, because it is expected to have
different electron charge densities from them.[4] It should be a very heavy metal
with a density of around 26–27 g/cm3. In comparison, the densest known element that
has had its density measured, osmium, has a density of only 22.61 g/cm3.[5][6]

The outer electron configuration of darmstadtium is calculated to be 6d8 7s2, which

obeys the Aufbau principle and does not follow platinum's outer electron
configuration of 5d9 6s1. This is due to the relativistic stabilization of the 7s2
electron pair over the whole seventh period, so that none of the elements from 104
to 112 are expected to have electron configurations violating the Aufbau principle.
The atomic radius of darmstadtium is expected to be around 132 pm.[3]

Experimental chemistry
Unambiguous determination of the chemical characteristics of darmstadtium has yet
to have been established[70] due to the short half-lives of darmstadtium isotopes
and a limited number of likely volatile compounds that could be studied on a very
small scale. One of the few darmstadtium compounds that are likely to be
sufficiently volatile is darmstadtium hexafluoride (DsF
6), as its lighter homologue platinum hexafluoride (PtF
6) is volatile above 60 °C and therefore the analogous compound of darmstadtium
might also be sufficiently volatile;[48] a volatile octafluoride (DsF
8) might also be possible.[3] For chemical studies to be carried out on a
transactinide, at least four atoms must be produced, the half-life of the isotope
used must be at least 1 second, and the rate of production must be at least one
atom per week.[48] Even though the half-life of 281Ds, the most stable confirmed
darmstadtium isotope, is 12.7 seconds, long enough to perform chemical studies,
another obstacle is the need to increase the rate of production of darmstadtium
isotopes and allow experiments to carry on for weeks or months so that
statistically significant results can be obtained. Separation and detection must be
carried out continuously to separate out the darmstadtium isotopes and have
automated systems experiment on the gas-phase and solution chemistry of
darmstadtium, as the yields for heavier elements are predicted to be smaller than
those for lighter elements; some of the separation techniques used for bohrium and
hassium could be reused. However, the experimental chemistry of darmstadtium has
not received as much attention as that of the heavier elements from copernicium to
livermorium.[3][70][71]

The more neutron-rich darmstadtium isotopes are the most stable[60] and are thus
more promising for chemical studies.[3][48] However, they can only be produced
indirectly from the alpha decay of heavier elements,[72][73][74] and indirect
synthesis methods are not as favourable for chemical studies as direct synthesis
methods.[3] The more neutron-rich isotopes 276Ds and 277Ds might be produced
directly in the reaction between thorium-232 and calcium-48, but the yield is
expected to be low.[3][75][76] Furthermore, this reaction has already been tested
without success,[75] and more recent experiments that have successfully synthesized
277Ds using indirect methods show that it has a short half-life of 3.5 ms, not long
enough to perform chemical studies.[53][73] The only known darmstadtium isotope
with a half-life long enough for chemical research is 281Ds, which would have to be
produced as the granddaughter of 289Fl.[77]

See also