Roentgenium (111Rg) is a synthetic element, and thus a standard atomic weight cannot be given. Like all synthetic elements, it has no stable isotopes. The first isotope to be synthesized was 272Rg in 1994, which is also the only directly synthesized isotope; all others are decay products of heavier elements. There are seven known radioisotopes, having mass numbers of 272, 274, and 278–282. The longest-lived isotope is 282Rg with a half-life of about 2 minutes, although the unconfirmed 283Rg and 286Rg may have longer half-lives of about 5.1 minutes and 10.7 minutes respectively.
^( ) – Uncertainty (1σ) is given in concise form in parentheses after the corresponding last digits.
^# – Atomic mass marked #: value and uncertainty derived not from purely experimental data, but at least partly from trends from the Mass Surface (TMS).
^# – Values marked # are not purely derived from experimental data, but at least partly from trends of neighboring nuclides (TNN).
^Not directly synthesized, occurs as a decay product of 278Nh
^Not directly synthesized, occurs as a decay product of 282Nh
^Not directly synthesized, occurs in decay chain of 287Mc
^Not directly synthesized, occurs in decay chain of 288Mc
^Not directly synthesized, occurs in decay chain of 293Ts
^Not directly synthesized, occurs in decay chain of 294Ts
^Not directly synthesized, occurs in decay chain of 287Fl; unconfirmed
^Not directly synthesised, occurs in decay chain of 290Fl and 294Lv; unconfirmed
Isotopes and nuclear properties
Nucleosynthesis
Super-heavy elements such as roentgenium are produced by bombarding lighter elements in particle accelerators that induce fusion reactions. Whereas the lightest isotope of roentgenium, roentgenium-272, can be synthesized directly this way, all the heavier roentgenium isotopes have only been observed as decay products of elements with higher atomic numbers.[8]
Depending on the energies involved, fusion reactions can be categorized as "hot" or "cold". In hot fusion reactions, very light, high-energy projectiles are accelerated toward very heavy targets (actinides), giving rise to compound nuclei at high excitation energy (~40–50 MeV) that may either fission or evaporate several (3 to 5) neutrons.[9] In cold fusion reactions, the produced fused nuclei have a relatively low excitation energy (~10–20 MeV), which decreases the probability that these products will undergo fission reactions. As the fused nuclei cool to the ground state, they require emission of only one or two neutrons, and thus, allows for the generation of more neutron-rich products.[8] The latter is a distinct concept from that of where nuclear fusion claimed to be achieved at room temperature conditions (see cold fusion).[10]
The table below contains various combinations of targets and projectiles which could be used to form compound nuclei with Z=111.
Target
Projectile
CN
Attempt result
205Tl
70Zn
275Rg
Failure to date
208Pb
65Cu
273Rg
Successful reaction
209Bi
64Ni
273Rg
Successful reaction
231Pa
48Ca
279Rg
Reaction yet to be attempted
238U
41K
279Rg
Reaction yet to be attempted
244Pu
37Cl
281Rg
Reaction yet to be attempted
248Cm
31P
279Rg
Reaction yet to be attempted
250Cm
31P
281Rg
Reaction yet to be attempted
Cold fusion
Before the first successful synthesis of roentgenium in 1994 by the GSI team, a team at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna, Russia, also tried to synthesize roentgenium by bombarding bismuth-209 with nickel-64 in 1986. No roentgenium atoms were identified. After an upgrade of their facilities, the team at GSI successfully detected 3 atoms of 272Rg in their discovery experiment.[11] A further 3 atoms were synthesized in 2002.[12] The discovery of roentgenium was confirmed in 2003 when a team at RIKEN measured the decays of 14 atoms of 272Rg.[13]
This reaction was conducted as part of their study of projectiles with odd atomic number in cold fusion reactions.[14]
The 205Tl(70Zn,n)274Rg reaction was tried by the RIKEN team in 2004 and repeated in 2010 in an attempt to secure the discovery of its parent 278Nh:[15]
205 81Tl + 70 30Zn → 274 111Rg + n
Due to the weakness of the thallium target, they were unable to detect any atoms of 274Rg.[15]
All the isotopes of roentgenium except roentgenium-272 have been detected only in the decay chains of elements with a higher atomic number, such as nihonium. Nihonium currently has six known isotopes, with two more unconfirmed; all of them undergo alpha decays to become roentgenium nuclei, with mass numbers between 274 and 286. Parent nihonium nuclei can be themselves decay products of moscovium and tennessine, and (via unconfirmed branches) flerovium and livermorium.[19] For example, in January 2010, the Dubna team (JINR) identified roentgenium-281 as a final product in the decay of tennessine via an alpha decay sequence:[16]
293 117Ts → 289 115Mc + 4 2He
289 115Mc → 285 113Nh + 4 2He
285 113Nh → 281 111Rg + 4 2He
Nuclear isomerism
274Rg
Two atoms of 274Rg have been observed in the decay chain of 278Nh. They decay by alpha emission, emitting alpha particles with different energies, and have different lifetimes. In addition, the two entire decay chains appear to be different. This suggests the presence of two nuclear isomers but further research is required.[18][failed verification]
272Rg
Four alpha particles emitted from 272Rg with energies of 11.37, 11.03, 10.82, and 10.40 MeV have been detected. The GSI measured 272Rg to have a half-life of 1.6 ms while recent data from RIKEN have given a half-life of 3.8 ms. The conflicting data may be due to nuclear isomers but the current data are insufficient to come to any firm assignments.[11][13]
Chemical yields of isotopes
Cold fusion
The table below provides cross-sections and excitation energies for cold fusion reactions producing roentgenium isotopes directly. Data in bold represent maxima derived from excitation function measurements. + represents an observed exit channel.
Projectile
Target
CN
1n
2n
3n
64Ni
209Bi
273Rg
3.5 pb, 12.5 MeV
65Cu
208Pb
273Rg
1.7 pb, 13.2 MeV
Theoretical calculations
Evaporation residue cross sections
The below table contains various targets-projectile combinations for which calculations have provided estimates for cross section yields from various neutron evaporation channels. The channel with the highest expected yield is given.
^ abOganessian, Yuri Ts.; Abdullin, F. Sh.; Alexander, C.; Binder, J.; et al. (2013-05-30). "Experimental studies of the 249Bk + 48Ca reaction including decay properties and excitation function for isotopes of element 117, and discovery of the new isotope 277Mt". Physical Review C. 87 (054621). American Physical Society. Bibcode:2013PhRvC..87e4621O. doi:10.1103/PhysRevC.87.054621.
^ abHofmann, S.; Heinz, S.; Mann, R.; et al. (2016). "Remarks on the Fission Barriers of SHN and Search for Element 120". In Peninozhkevich, Yu. E.; Sobolev, Yu. G. (eds.). Exotic Nuclei: EXON-2016 Proceedings of the International Symposium on Exotic Nuclei. Exotic Nuclei. pp. 155–164. doi:10.1142/9789813226548_0024. ISBN9789813226555.
^Fleischmann, Martin; Pons, Stanley (1989). "Electrochemically induced nuclear fusion of deuterium". Journal of Electroanalytical Chemistry and Interfacial Electrochemistry. 261 (2): 301–308. doi:10.1016/0022-0728(89)80006-3.
^ abHofmann, S.; Ninov, V.; Heßberger, F. P.; Armbruster, P.; Folger, H.; Münzenberg, G.; Schött, H. J.; Popeko, A. G.; et al. (1995). "The new element 111". Zeitschrift für Physik A. 350 (4): 281–282. Bibcode:1995ZPhyA.350..281H. doi:10.1007/BF01291182. S2CID18804192.
^Hofmann, S.; Heßberger, F. P.; Ackermann, D.; Münzenberg, G.; Antalic, S.; Cagarda, P.; Kindler, B.; Kojouharova, J.; et al. (2002). "New results on elements 111 and 112". The European Physical Journal A. 14 (2): 147–157. Bibcode:2002EPJA...14..147H. doi:10.1140/epja/i2001-10119-x. S2CID8773326.
^ abMorita, K.; Morimoto, K. K.; Kaji, D.; Goto, S.; Haba, H.; Ideguchi, E.; Kanungo, R.; Katori, K.; Koura, H.; Kudo, H.; Ohnishi, T.; Ozawa, A.; Peter, J. C.; Suda, T.; Sueki, K.; Tanihata, I.; Tokanai, F.; Xu, H.; Yeremin, A. V.; Yoneda, A.; Yoshida, A.; Zhao, Y.-L.; Zheng, T. (2004). "Status of heavy element research using GARIS at RIKEN". Nuclear Physics A. 734: 101–108. Bibcode:2004NuPhA.734..101M. doi:10.1016/j.nuclphysa.2004.01.019.
^ abMorimoto, Kouji (2016). "The discovery of element 113 at RIKEN"(PDF). www.physics.adelaide.edu.au. 26th International Nuclear Physics Conference. Retrieved 14 May 2017.
^ abcOganessian, Yu. Ts.; Penionzhkevich, Yu. E.; Cherepanov, E. A. (2007). "Heaviest Nuclei Produced in 48Ca-induced Reactions (Synthesis and Decay Properties)". AIP Conference Proceedings. Vol. 912. pp. 235–246. doi:10.1063/1.2746600.
^ abMorita, Kosuke; Morimoto, Kouji; Kaji, Daiya; Akiyama, Takahiro; Goto, Sin-ichi; Haba, Hiromitsu; Ideguchi, Eiji; Kanungo, Rituparna; Katori, Kenji; Koura, Hiroyuki; Kudo, Hisaaki; Ohnishi, Tetsuya; Ozawa, Akira; Suda, Toshimi; Sueki, Keisuke; Xu, HuShan; Yamaguchi, Takayuki; Yoneda, Akira; Yoshida, Atsushi; Zhao, YuLiang (2004). "Experiment on the Synthesis of Element 113 in the Reaction 209Bi(70Zn,n)278113". Journal of the Physical Society of Japan. 73 (10): 2593–2596. Bibcode:2004JPSJ...73.2593M. doi:10.1143/JPSJ.73.2593.
^Sonzogni, Alejandro. "Interactive Chart of Nuclides". National Nuclear Data Center: Brookhaven National Laboratory. Archived from the original on 2012-12-11. Retrieved 2008-06-06.