tennessine294

tennessine-294 (294Ts) is a synthetic radioactive isotope of the superheavy element tennessine (atomic number 117). It has mass number 294 and is one of the isotopes observed for tennessine, existing only for a brief time before decaying.

Discovery and naming: 294Ts was first produced in 2010 by an international collaboration at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (Dubna) together with partners at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. The isotope was generated by bombarding berkelium-249 with calcium-48 in a fusion-evaporation reaction, described as 249Bk + 48Ca → 294Ts + 3n. The observation of this and related isotopes confirmed the existence of element 117. During its discovery, the element was referred to by the temporary name ununseptium (Uus). IUPAC officially named the element tennessine (symbol Ts) in 2016.

Nuclear properties and isotopes: 294Ts is highly unstable, with a half-life measured in the millisecond range. Its observed decay modes include alpha decay and spontaneous fission, consistent with other heavy, short-lived isotopes near the end of the periodic table. Other confirmed isotopes of tennessine include 293Ts and 294Ts, with experimental data limited by the small number of atoms produced.

Chemical properties and context: As a seventh-period halogen, tennessine is predicted to exhibit halogen-like chemistry, though extreme relativistic effects in such a heavy nucleus may cause deviations from lighter halogens. No detailed, routine chemical experiments have been practical for 294Ts due to its fleeting existence. The study of 294Ts and related isotopes helps define the properties and boundaries of the heaviest elements in the periodic table.