Livermorium (Lv)
post-transition-metalExpected to be a Solid
Standard Atomic Weight
[293]Electron configuration
[Rn] 7s2 7p4 5f14 6d10 (Predicted)Melting point
506.85 °CBoiling point
861.85 °CDensity
1.29e+4 kg/m³Oxidation states
−2, +2, +4Electronegativity (Pauling)
N/AIonization energy (1st)
N/ADiscovery year
2000Atomic radius
183 pmDetails
Livermorium is a synthetic superheavy element in group 16, below polonium. It has only been made atom by atom in nuclear reactions, and all confirmed isotopes are extremely short-lived. Its placement suggests a heavy chalcogen, but relativistic effects are expected to alter its chemistry. No macroscopic sample has existed, so most chemical and physical properties remain predicted rather than measured.
Livermorium does not occur naturally in the Earth’s crust. In 2000, scientists from the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR) in Dubna, Russia (Fig. IUPAC.116.1) worked with scientists from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory at the University of California and other collaborators to synthesize element 116. This element was first given the placeholder name ununhexium; in May of 2012 it was granted the name livermorium, with the symbol Lv. Researchers first studied livermorium as a decay product of oganesson and then synthesized livermorium by bombarding atoms of 248Cm with ions of 48Ca. The initial reaction of 248Cm with 48Ca produced the isotope 292Lv. Researchers were also able to produce livermorium by bombarding 245Cm with 48Ca. There are four known isotopes of livermorium [669], [674]. Livermorium has no known isotopic applications aside from scientific research.
On December 6, 2000, scientists working at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna, Russia, along with scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, announced the creation of livermorium. They produced livermorium by bombarding atoms of curium-248 with ions of calcium-48. This produced livermorium-292, an isotope with a half-life of about 0.6 milliseconds (0.0006 seconds), and four free neutrons. Livermorium's most stable isotope, livermorium-293, has a half-life of about 53 milliseconds. It decays into flerovium-289 through alpha decay.
Livermorium is a synthetic element with the symbol Lv and an atomic number of 116.
It was first reported by Russian scientists from Dubna (Joint Institute for Nuclear Research) in 2000. Its former name was ununhexium and the name Livermorium name was adopted by IUPAC on May 31, 2012.
The appearance of livermorium is unknown because no visible or weighable sample has been produced. Predictions generally treat it as a very heavy metallic solid under ordinary conditions, but this has not been experimentally observed.
Livermorium has no practical use outside nuclear and chemical research. Its atoms are produced to study superheavy nuclei, decay chains, nuclear shell effects, and the limits of the periodic table. Any chemical experiments would necessarily be atom-at-a-time studies with rapidly decaying isotopes, not applications using a stored material.
Since only a few atoms of livermorium have ever been produced, it currently has no uses outside of basic scientific research.
No bulk livermorium compounds are known. As a group 16 element, it is expected to show chemistry related to tellurium and polonium, with oxidation states such as +2 and possibly +4 considered plausible. The +6 state, common for lighter chalcogens in compounds such as sulfur hexafluoride (SF₆), is predicted to be less stable for livermorium because of strong relativistic effects. Specific compounds such as livermorium dioxide (LvO₂) or livermorium hydride (LvH₂) remain theoretical.
See more information at the Livermorium compound page.
Livermorium presents a radiological hazard in principle, but only minute numbers of atoms have been made. Its known isotopes decay rapidly by alpha emission and spontaneous fission pathways within decay chains. Laboratory risk is governed mainly by accelerator targets, intense beams, recoil separators, and the radioactive daughter products, rather than by chemical exposure to livermorium itself.
Livermorium has no confirmed natural occurrence and no known environmental cycle. Atoms made in laboratories decay too quickly and in too small a number to produce measurable environmental concentrations. Any release would be negligible in chemical terms, with radiological relevance limited to the immediate experimental context and its decay products.
Livermorium has no commodity market, commercial supply, or industrial demand. Production requires heavy-ion accelerators, rare target materials, and specialized detection systems capable of identifying single atoms through their decay chains. The cost is therefore embedded in large-scale nuclear research rather than in the price of a material. There is no recycling or stockpiling of livermorium, because produced atoms decay before any macroscopic inventory could exist.
Made by bombardng curium-248 with calcium-48.
Livermorium is not expected to occur in ordinary cosmic or planetary matter. If formed in extreme nucleosynthetic events, its known isotopes would decay far too quickly to survive to the present. Searches for long-lived superheavy nuclei concern possible islands of stability, but no naturally occurring livermorium isotope has been confirmed.
- Livermorium was named for Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
- Confirmed livermorium atoms have been identified through decay chains, not by weighing a sample.
- Its chemistry is expected to be strongly affected by relativistic electron behavior.
- The element lies below polonium but is not simply a heavier ordinary chalcogen.
- Even the longest-lived known livermorium isotopes have half-lives measured on very short experimental timescales.
Images
Properties
Physical
- Atomic radius (empirical)
- 183 pm Compare Atomic radius (empirical) of all elements →
- Density
- 1.29 × 104 kg/m³ Compare Density of all elements →
- Phase at STP
- Solid Compare Phase at STP of all elements →
- Melting point
- 506.85 °C Compare Melting point of all elements →
- Boiling point
- 861.85 °C Compare Boiling point of all elements →
Chemical
- Electron affinity
- 0.7 eV
- Oxidation states
- −2, +2, +4 Compare Oxidation states of all elements →
- Valence electrons
- 6 Compare Valence electrons of all elements →
- Electron configuration
- [Rn] 7s2 7p4 5f14 6d10 (Predicted)
Thermodynamic
N/A
Nuclear
- Protons
- 116 Compare Protons of all elements →
- Neutrons
- 177 Compare Neutrons of all elements →
- Known isotopes
- 5 Compare Known isotopes of all elements →
- Stable isotopes
- 0 Compare Stable isotopes of all elements →
- Mass number (most stable)
- 293
- Most stable isotope
- Lv-293
- Discovery year
- 2000
Abundance
N/A
Crystal Structure
N/A
Electronic Structure
- Electrons per shell
- 14, 10, 6 Compare Electrons per shell of all elements →
Identifiers
- CAS number
- 54100-71-9 Compare CAS number of all elements →
- InChI
- InChI=1S/Lv
- InChI Key
- ONFASNXETZOODS-UHFFFAOYSA-N
Electron Configuration Predicted
——Electron configuration data not available for this ion.
Atomic model
Isotopes change neutron count, mass, and stability — not the electron configuration of a neutral atom.
N/A
Schematic atomic model, not to scale.
Atomic Fingerprint
Emission / Absorption Spectrum
Isotope Distribution
No stable isotopes.
| Mass number | Atomic mass (u) | Natural abundance | Half-life |
|---|---|---|---|
| 289 Radioactive | 289.19816 ± 0.00057 | N/A | 16 ms |
| 290 Radioactive | 290.19864 ± 0.00071 | N/A | 9 ms |
| 291 Radioactive | 291.20108 ± 0.00066 | N/A | 26 ms |
| 292 Radioactive | 292.20174 ± 0.00091 | N/A | 16 ms |
| 293 Radioactive | 293.20449 ± 0.0006 | N/A | 70 ms |
Phase / State
Reason: 481.9 °C below melting point (506.85 °C)
Schematic, not to scale
Phase transition points
Density
At standard conditions
At standard conditions
Crystal structure data not available
Isotopes (5)
| Mass number | Atomic mass (u) | Natural abundance | Half-life | Decay mode | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 289 Radioactive | 289.19816 ± 0.00057 | N/A | 16 ms | α ? | |
| 290 Radioactive | 290.19864 ± 0.00071 | N/A | 9 ms | α ≈100%SF ? | |
| 291 Radioactive | 291.20108 ± 0.00066 | N/A | 26 ms | α ≈100%SF ? | |
| 292 Radioactive | 292.20174 ± 0.00091 | N/A | 16 ms | α ≈100%SF ? | |
| 293 Radioactive | 293.20449 ± 0.0006 | N/A | 70 ms | α ≈100%SF ? |
Extended Properties
Covalent Radii (Extended)
- Covalent radius (Pyykkö)
- 175 pm
Numbering Scales
- Mendeleev
- 104
Oxidation State Categories
Advanced Reference Data
Isotope Decay Modes (9)
| Isotope | Mode | Intensity |
|---|---|---|
| 289 | A | — |
| 290 | A | 100% |
| 290 | SF | — |
| 291 | A | 100% |
| 291 | SF | — |
| 292 | A | 100% |
| 292 | SF | — |
| 293 | A | 100% |
| 293 | SF | — |
Additional Data
Estimated Crustal Abundance
The estimated element abundance in the earth's crust.
Not Applicable
References (1)
- [5] Livermorium https://education.jlab.org/itselemental/ele116.html
Estimated Oceanic Abundance
The estimated element abundance in the earth's oceans.
Not Applicable
References (1)
- [5] Livermorium https://education.jlab.org/itselemental/ele116.html
References
(8)
Data deposited in or computed by PubChem
The half-life and atomic mass data was provided by the Atomic Mass Data Center at the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Element data are cited from the Atomic weights of the elements (an IUPAC Technical Report). The IUPAC periodic table of elements can be found at https://iupac.org/what-we-do/periodic-table-of-elements/. Additional information can be found within IUPAC publication doi:10.1515/pac-2015-0703 Copyright © 2020 International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry.
The information are cited from Pure Appl. Chem. 2018; 90(12): 1833-2092, https://doi.org/10.1515/pac-2015-0703.
Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (Jefferson Lab) is one of 17 national laboratories funded by the U.S. Department of Energy. The lab's primary mission is to conduct basic research of the atom's nucleus using the lab's unique particle accelerator, known as the Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility (CEBAF). For more information visit https://www.jlab.org/
The periodic table at the LANL (Los Alamos National Laboratory) contains basic element information together with the history, source, properties, use, handling and more. The provenance data may be found from the link under the source name.
The periodic table contains NIST's critically-evaluated data on atomic properties of the elements.
This section provides all form of data related to element Livermorium.