Copernicium (Cn)
transition-metalExpected to be a Solid
Masse atomique relative standard
[285]Configuration électronique
[Rn] 7s2 5f14 6d10 (Prédit)Point de fusion
N/DPoint d’ébullition
-165,15 °CMasse volumique
1,4e+4 kg/m³États d’oxydation
+2, +4Électronégativité (Pauling)
N/DÉnergie d’ionisation (1re)
N/DAnnée de découverte
1996Rayon atomique
147 pmDétails
Copernicium is a synthetic transactinide element in group 12, below zinc, cadmium, and mercury. It is known only from accelerator experiments that create individual atoms of short-lived isotopes. Relativistic effects are expected to make its chemistry unusually noble for a group 12 element, with weak metallic bonding and a comparatively volatile elemental state. Its confirmed properties are therefore mainly nuclear, while its chemical behavior remains partly experimental and partly theoretical.
Copernicium does not occur naturally in the Earth’s crust. Copernicium was synthesized by scientists at the GSI Helmholtz Center for Heavy Ion Research in Darmstadt, Germany in 1996 (Fig. IUPAC.112.1). Sigurd Hofmann and an international team of scientists used the nuclear reaction 208Pb (70Zn, n) 277Cn. The observed alpha decays led to the known nuclide, 269Sg. The name, copernicium, was given to element 112 to honor astronomer Nicholas Copernicus, who is known for his heliocentric theory of how the planets orbit the Sun [663], [664]. Copernicium has no known isotopic applications aside from scientific research.
Copernicium is named after the astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus.
Copernicium was first produced by Peter Armbruster, Gottfried Münzenber and their team working at the Gesellschaft für Schwerionenforschung in Darmstadt, Germany on February 9, 1996. They bombarded atoms of lead with ions of zinc with a device known as a linear accelerator. This produced atoms of copernicium-277, an isotope with a half-life of about 0.24 milliseconds (0.00024 seconds). Copernicium's most stable isotope, copernicium-285, has a half-life of about 30 seconds. It decays into darmstadtium-281 through alpha decay.
On February 9, 1996, element 277Cn was created at the Gesellschaft fur Schwerionenforschung in Darmstadt, Germany by using the reaction 208Pb + 70Zn. Unlike element 110, Copernicium has properties more similar to radon than mercury, but due to its short half-life, it is difficult to study. As of 2011, Copernicum's most stable isotope has an atomic weight of 285.
No macroscopic sample of copernicium has been made, so its visible appearance is unknown. Calculations suggest a very volatile, weakly bound metal, possibly more gas-like in atom-at-a-time conditions than mercury, but this is not a directly observed bulk property.
Copernicium has no practical use outside scientific research. Its isotopes are produced one atom at a time to study superheavy nuclei, decay chains, and the influence of strong relativistic effects on chemical behavior. Experimental work with copernicium also helps test models used to predict the stability and chemistry of still heavier elements. No commercial, medical, structural, or electronic application is known or feasible with present production methods and isotope lifetimes.
Since only a few atoms of copernicium have ever been produced, it currently has no uses outside of basic scientific research.
Originally, the symbol Cp was recommended for Copernicium. That symbol was rejected because Cp had previously been used for the element lutetium which, prior to 1949, had cassiopeium as an alternative allowed name. Please see this file for additional details.
Copernicium chemistry has been investigated only in atom-at-a-time experiments and by theory. The element is expected to favor the +2 oxidation state in compounds, by analogy with group 12 elements, but strong relativistic stabilization of the 7s electrons may make neutral copernicium especially inert. Studies of adsorption behavior suggest that elemental Cn interacts weakly with gold surfaces compared with mercury. Predicted species include copernicium(II) fluoride, CnF₂, and copernicium(II) chloride, CnCl₂, but well-characterized bulk compounds do not exist.
See more information at the Copernicium compound page.
The hazards of copernicium are dominated by radioactivity rather than ordinary chemical toxicity. All known isotopes are short-lived and decay mainly by alpha emission, with some decay chains involving spontaneous fission. The element is produced in quantities far too small for conventional handling or environmental exposure. In laboratories, risk control concerns the accelerator target, recoil products, and radioactive decay products, not bulk copernicium material.
Copernicium has no confirmed natural occurrence and no environmental cycle. Any atoms formed naturally, if at all, would decay rapidly and would not accumulate. Laboratory production yields isolated atoms that decay within controlled experimental systems. Consequently, environmental behavior such as solubility, transport in soils or waters, bioaccumulation, and ecological effects has not been observed for copernicium.
Copernicium has no commodity market, industrial supply chain, or recoverable source. It is made in heavy-ion fusion experiments, commonly by bombarding heavy actinide targets with accelerated ions, followed by separation and detection of a few decay events. Production depends on specialized accelerators, rare target materials, long beam times, and highly sensitive detectors. The limiting factors are nuclear reaction cross sections and isotope half-lives, not ore availability or refining capacity. Recycling and substitution have no practical meaning for this element outside research planning.
Made by bombarding lead-208 with zinc-70.
Copernicium is not expected to be a primordial or cosmically abundant element because its known isotopes decay far too quickly to survive since nucleosynthesis. Superheavy nuclei may be formed fleetingly in extreme astrophysical neutron-rich events, but no stable or long-lived copernicium isotope is known. It has no established role in planetary chemistry or extraterrestrial materials.
- Copernicium was named for Nicolaus Copernicus.
- Its chemistry is strongly affected by relativistic stabilization of the 7s electrons.
- Only individual atoms have been studied experimentally.
- The most useful evidence for its chemistry comes from rapid gas-phase adsorption experiments.
- Copernicium sits below mercury but may be even more volatile.
- Its discovery was credited to work at GSI in Darmstadt, Germany.
Images
Propriétés
Propriétés physiques
- Rayon atomique (empirique)
- 147 pm Comparer : Rayon atomique (empirique) de tous les éléments →
- Masse volumique
- 1,4 × 104 kg/m³ Comparer : Masse volumique de tous les éléments →
- Phase aux CNTP
- Gaz Comparer : Phase aux CNTP de tous les éléments →
- Point d’ébullition
- -165,15 °C Comparer : Point d’ébullition de tous les éléments →
Propriétés chimiques
- Affinité électronique
- -0,8 eV (valeur négative — l'atome ne devrait pas lier d'électron supplémentaire)
- États d’oxydation
- +2, +4 Comparer : États d’oxydation de tous les éléments →
- Électrons de valence
- 2 Comparer : Électrons de valence de tous les éléments →
- Configuration électronique
- [Rn] 7s2 5f14 6d10 (Prédit)
Propriétés thermodynamiques
N/D
Propriétés nucléaires
- Protons
- 112 Comparer : Protons de tous les éléments →
- Neutrons
- 173 Comparer : Neutrons de tous les éléments →
- Isotopes connus
- 13 Comparer : Isotopes connus de tous les éléments →
- Isotopes stables
- 0 Comparer : Isotopes stables de tous les éléments →
- Nombre de masse (isotope le plus stable)
- 285
- Isotope le plus stable
- Cn-285
- Année de découverte
- 1996
Abondance
N/D
Structure cristalline
N/D
Structure électronique
- Électrons par couche
- 14, 10, 2 Comparer : Électrons par couche de tous les éléments →
Identifiants
- Numéro CAS
- 54084-26-3 Comparer : Numéro CAS de tous les éléments →
- InChI
- InChI=1S/Cn
- Clé InChI
- NOTIIDSZELDPOP-UHFFFAOYSA-N
Configuration électronique Prédit
——Données de configuration électronique indisponibles pour cet ion.
Modèle atomique
Les isotopes diffèrent par leur nombre de neutrons, leur masse et leur stabilité — pas par la configuration électronique de l’atome neutre.
N/D
Modèle atomique schématique, non à l’échelle.
Empreinte atomique
Spectre d’émission / d’absorption
Distribution isotopique
Aucun isotope stable.
| Nombre de masse | Masse atomique (u) | Abondance naturelle | Demi-vie |
|---|---|---|---|
| 277 Radioactif | 277,16364 ± 0,00015 | N/D | 790 us |
| 281 Radioactif | 281,16975 ± 0,00042 | N/D | 180 ms |
| 284 Radioactif | 284,17416 ± 0,00091 | N/D | 102 ms |
| 276 Radioactif | 276,16141 ± 0,00064 | N/D | 100 us |
| 279 Radioactif | 279,16654 ± 0,0005 | N/D | 60 us |
Phase / État
Explication: 190,1 °C au-dessus du point d’ébullition (-165,15 °C)
Schématique, non à l’échelle
Points de transition de phase
Masse volumique
Dans les conditions standard
Estimée par la loi des gaz parfaits à la température actuelle
Données de structure cristalline indisponibles pour la phase solide
Isotopes (5)
| Nombre de masse | Masse atomique (u) | Abondance naturelle | Demi-vie | Mode de désintégration | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 277 Radioactif | 277,16364 ± 0,00015 | N/D | 790 us | α =100% | |
| 281 Radioactif | 281,16975 ± 0,00042 | N/D | 180 ms | α ≈100%SF ? | |
| 284 Radioactif | 284,17416 ± 0,00091 | N/D | 102 ms | SF =100% | |
| 276 Radioactif | 276,16141 ± 0,00064 | N/D | 100 us | α ?SF ? | |
| 279 Radioactif | 279,16654 ± 0,0005 | N/D | 60 us | α ?SF ? |
Propriétés étendues
Rayons covalents (données étendues)
- Rayon covalent (Pyykkö)
- 122 pm
- Rayon covalent (Pyykkö, liaison double)
- 137 pm
- Rayon covalent (Pyykkö, liaison triple)
- 130 pm
Échelles de numérotation
- Mendeleev
- 80
Polarisabilité et dispersion
- Polarisabilité dipolaire
- 28 a.u.
- Polarisabilité dipolaire (incertitude)
- 2 a.u.
Catégories d’états d’oxydation
Données de référence avancées
Modes de désintégration des isotopes (23)
| Isotope | Mode | Intensité |
|---|---|---|
| 276 | A | — |
| 276 | SF | — |
| 277 | A | 100% |
| 278 | A | — |
| 278 | SF | — |
| 279 | A | — |
| 279 | SF | — |
| 280 | A | — |
| 280 | SF | — |
| 281 | A | 100% |
Données complémentaires
Estimated Crustal Abundance
The estimated element abundance in the earth's crust.
Not Applicable
Références (1)
- [5] Copernicium https://education.jlab.org/itselemental/ele112.html
Estimated Oceanic Abundance
The estimated element abundance in the earth's oceans.
Not Applicable
Références (1)
- [5] Copernicium https://education.jlab.org/itselemental/ele112.html
Références
(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 Copernicium.