Uuq

Uuq, short for Ununquadium, was the temporary systematic name for the chemical element with atomic number 114. It was used in IUPAC publications from the late 1990s until the official naming in 2012. The symbol Uuq appeared in early literature to designate this undiscovered element before a permanent name was established.

Discovery and naming history: Element 114 was first synthesized by a collaborative effort between the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in the late 1990s, using a fusion reaction that involved calcium-48 ions bombarding a plutonium-244 target. The experiments produced signals consistent with the creation of a new element, which at the time was assigned the temporary name Ununquadium (Uuq). In 2012, IUPAC approved the official name Flerovium (Fl) in honor of the Flerov Laboratory of Nuclear Reactions in Dubna and its founder Georgy Flyorov. The symbol Fl is now used for the element, while Uuq remains a historical designation.

Position in the periodic table: Uuq (now Fl) is located in period 7 and group 14 of the periodic table. As a heavy, synthetic member of the carbon group, its chemistry is expected to be influenced by relativistic effects, with properties that may differ from lighter congeners.

Isotopes and stability: Isotopes of Fl have been synthesized with mass numbers around the low 280s to high 280s, all exhibiting very short half-lives. Consequently, detailed experimental chemistry is challenging, and knowledge of its properties remains limited to short-lived observations and theoretical predictions.