Moscovium - Element information, properties and uses

Periodic Table

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Glossary

Allotropes
Some elements exist in several different structural forms, called allotropes. Each allotrope has different physical properties.

For more information on the Visual Elements image see the Uses and properties section below.

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Moscovium

Discovery date	2010
Discovered by	Scientists from the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna, Russia, the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California, USA, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee, USA
Origin of the name	The name refers to the Moscow region, where the Joint Institute of Nuclear Research is based.
Allotropes	-

Moscovium

115

[289]

Glossary

Group
A vertical column in the periodic table. Members of a group typically have similar properties and electron configurations in their outer shell.

Period
A horizontal row in the periodic table. The atomic number of each element increases by one, reading from left to right.

Block
Elements are organised into blocks by the orbital type in which the outer electrons are found. These blocks are named for the characteristic spectra they produce: sharp (s), principal (p), diffuse (d), and fundamental (f).

Atomic number
The number of protons in an atom.

Electron configuration
The arrangements of electrons above the last (closed shell) noble gas.

Melting point
The temperature at which the solid–liquid phase change occurs.

Boiling point
The temperature at which the liquid–gas phase change occurs.

Sublimation
The transition of a substance directly from the solid to the gas phase without passing through a liquid phase.

Density (g cm⁻³)
Density is the mass of a substance that would fill 1 cm³ at room temperature.

Relative atomic mass
The mass of an atom relative to that of carbon-12. This is approximately the sum of the number of protons and neutrons in the nucleus. Where more than one isotope exists, the value given is the abundance weighted average.

Isotopes
Atoms of the same element with different numbers of neutrons.

CAS number
The Chemical Abstracts Service registry number is a unique identifier of a particular chemical, designed to prevent confusion arising from different languages and naming systems.

Fact box

Group	15	Melting point	Unknown
Period	7	Boiling point	Unknown
Block	p	Density (g cm⁻³)	Unknown
Atomic number	115	Relative atomic mass	[289]
State at 20°C	Solid	Key isotopes	²⁸⁹Mc
Electron configuration	[Rn] 5f¹⁴6d¹⁰7s²7p³	CAS number	54085-64-2
ChemSpider ID	-	ChemSpider is a free chemical structure database

Glossary

Image explanation

Murray Robertson is the artist behind the images which make up Visual Elements. This is where the artist explains his interpretation of the element and the science behind the picture.

Appearance

The description of the element in its natural form.

Biological role

The role of the element in humans, animals and plants.

Natural abundance

Where the element is most commonly found in nature, and how it is sourced commercially.

Uses and properties

Image explanation

The image reflects the naming of the element in that it employs abstracted details of traditional architecture from the Moscow region featuring both onion dome forms and other architectural features. The image also features abstracted particle trails.

Appearance

A highly radioactive metal, of which only a few atoms have ever been made.

Uses

At present, it is only used in research.

Biological role

It has no known biological role.

Natural abundance

Unknown

Help text not available for this section currently

History

Elements and Periodic Table History

IUPAC confirmed the discovery (by scientists from the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna, Russia, the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California, USA, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee, USA) in 2015. This entry will be updated when more information is available.

Glossary

Atomic radius, non-bonded
Half of the distance between two unbonded atoms of the same element when the electrostatic forces are balanced. These values were determined using several different methods.

Covalent radius
Half of the distance between two atoms within a single covalent bond. Values are given for typical oxidation number and coordination.

Electron affinity
The energy released when an electron is added to the neutral atom and a negative ion is formed.

Electronegativity (Pauling scale)
The tendency of an atom to attract electrons towards itself, expressed on a relative scale.

First ionisation energy
The minimum energy required to remove an electron from a neutral atom in its ground state.

Atomic data

Atomic radius, non-bonded (Å)	Unknown	Covalent radius (Å)	1.62
Electron affinity (kJ mol⁻¹)	Unknown	Electronegativity (Pauling scale)	Unknown
Ionisation energies (kJ mol⁻¹)	1^st - 2^nd - 3^rd - 4^th - 5^th - 6^th - 7^th - 8^th -

Glossary

Common oxidation states

The oxidation state of an atom is a measure of the degree of oxidation of an atom. It is defined as being the charge that an atom would have if all bonds were ionic. Uncombined elements have an oxidation state of 0. The sum of the oxidation states within a compound or ion must equal the overall charge.

Isotopes

Atoms of the same element with different numbers of neutrons.

Key for isotopes

Half life
	y	years
	d	days
	h	hours
	m	minutes
	s	seconds
Mode of decay
	α	alpha particle emission
	β	negative beta (electron) emission
	β+	positron emission
	EC	orbital electron capture
	sf	spontaneous fission
	ββ	double beta emission
	ECEC	double orbital electron capture

Oxidation states and isotopes

Common oxidation states	Unknown
Isotopes	Isotope	Atomic mass	Natural abundance (%)	Half life	Mode of decay
	²⁸⁸Mc	288.193	-	~ 0.09 s	α
	²⁸⁹Mc	289.194	-	-	-

Glossary

Data for this section been provided by the British Geological Survey.

Relative supply risk

An integrated supply risk index from 1 (very low risk) to 10 (very high risk). This is calculated by combining the scores for crustal abundance, reserve distribution, production concentration, substitutability, recycling rate and political stability scores.

Crustal abundance (ppm)

The number of atoms of the element per 1 million atoms of the Earth’s crust.

Recycling rate

The percentage of a commodity which is recycled. A higher recycling rate may reduce risk to supply.

Substitutability

The availability of suitable substitutes for a given commodity.
High = substitution not possible or very difficult.
Medium = substitution is possible but there may be an economic and/or performance impact
Low = substitution is possible with little or no economic and/or performance impact

Production concentration

The percentage of an element produced in the top producing country. The higher the value, the larger risk there is to supply.

Reserve distribution

The percentage of the world reserves located in the country with the largest reserves. The higher the value, the larger risk there is to supply.

Political stability of top producer

A percentile rank for the political stability of the top producing country, derived from World Bank governance indicators.

Political stability of top reserve holder

A percentile rank for the political stability of the country with the largest reserves, derived from World Bank governance indicators.

Glossary

Specific heat capacity (J kg⁻¹ K⁻¹)

Specific heat capacity is the amount of energy needed to change the temperature of a kilogram of a substance by 1 K.

Young's modulus

A measure of the stiffness of a substance. It provides a measure of how difficult it is to extend a material, with a value given by the ratio of tensile strength to tensile strain.

Shear modulus

A measure of how difficult it is to deform a material. It is given by the ratio of the shear stress to the shear strain.

Bulk modulus

A measure of how difficult it is to compress a substance. It is given by the ratio of the pressure on a body to the fractional decrease in volume.

Vapour pressure

A measure of the propensity of a substance to evaporate. It is defined as the equilibrium pressure exerted by the gas produced above a substance in a closed system.

Pressure and temperature data – advanced

Specific heat capacity
(J kg⁻¹ K⁻¹)

Unknown

Young's modulus (GPa)

Unknown

Shear modulus (GPa)

Unknown

Bulk modulus (GPa)

Unknown

Vapour pressure

Temperature (K)

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

1600

1800

2000

2200

2400

Pressure (Pa)

Help text not available for this section currently

Video

Click here to view videos about Moscovium

Help Text

Resources

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Terms & Conditions

Images © Murray Robertson 1999-2011
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References

Visual Elements images and videos
© Murray Robertson 1998-2017.

Data
W. M. Haynes, ed., CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, CRC Press/Taylor and Francis, Boca Raton, FL, 95th Edition, Internet Version 2015, accessed December 2014.
Tables of Physical & Chemical Constants, Kaye & Laby Online, 16th edition, 1995. Version 1.0 (2005), accessed December 2014.
J. S. Coursey, D. J. Schwab, J. J. Tsai, and R. A. Dragoset, Atomic Weights and Isotopic Compositions (version 4.1), 2015, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD, accessed November 2016.
T. L. Cottrell, The Strengths of Chemical Bonds, Butterworth, London, 1954.

Uses and properties
John Emsley, Nature’s Building Blocks: An A-Z Guide to the Elements, Oxford University Press, New York, 2nd Edition, 2011.
Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility - Office of Science Education, It’s Elemental - The Periodic Table of Elements, accessed December 2014.
Periodic Table of Videos, accessed December 2014.

Supply risk data
Derived in part from material provided by the British Geological Survey © NERC.

History text
Elements 1-112, 114, 116 and 117 © John Emsley 2012. Elements 113, 115, 117 and 118 © Royal Society of Chemistry 2017.

Podcasts
Produced by The Naked Scientists.

Periodic Table of Videos
Created by video journalist Brady Haran working with chemists at The University of Nottingham.

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