Livermorium
Livermorium is a synthetic superheavy element with symbol Lv and atomic number 116. It is an extremely radioactive element that has only been created in the laboratory and has not been observed in nature. The element is named after the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in the United States, which collaborated with the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna, Russia to discover livermorium in 2000.
Identity
- Atomic mass
- 293 u
- Category
- Post-transition metals
- Group
- 16
- Period
- 7
- Block
- p
- Oxidation States
- +2, +4
- Phase (25 °C)
- Solid
Electronic Structure
- Electron configuration
- 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 4s2 3d10 4p6 5s2 4d10 5p6 6s2 4f14 5d10 6p6 7s2 5f14 6d10 7p4
- Short configuration
- *[Rn] 5f14 6d10 7s2 7p4
- Electrons per shell
- 2, 8, 18, 32, 32, 18, 6
- Electronegativity (Pauling)
- —
- Electron affinity
- 74.9 kJ/mol
- 1st ionization energy
- —
Physical properties
- Melting point
- 435.9 °C (709 K)
- Boiling point
- 811.9 °C (1085 K)
- Density
- 12.9 g/cm³
- Molar heat capacity
- —
Chemical behavior of livermorium
Livermorium is a superheavy transactinide with symbol Lv and atomic number 116, belonging to group 16 (chalcogens) directly below polonium, tellurium and selenium. Its predicted ground-state electron configuration is [Rn] 5f¹⁴ 6d¹⁰ 7s² 7p¹/₂² 7p₃/₂². Relativistic quantum chemistry calculations indicate that spin-orbit splitting strongly stabilizes the 7p₁/₂ level, leaving two electrons in the upper 7p₃/₂ orbital. This makes the divalent +2 oxidation state (Lv²⁺) the most representative and stable, behaving as a reactive heavy metal with a marked tendency to form divalent halides such as livermorium dichloride (LvCl₂).
Reactivity
Lv + Cl₂ → LvCl₂ (predicted)
Thermodynamic models calculate it would form linear livermorium dichloride as its most stable halide in the gas phase.
Lv + 2 HCl → LvCl₂ + H₂ (predicted)
It would react with mineral acid solutions forming the divalent Lv²⁺ cation in aqueous equilibrium.
Lv + F₂ → LvF₂ (predicted)
It would form livermorium difluoride with predominantly covalent bonds, tetrafluoride being energetically unstable.
Notable compounds
| Compound | Formula | Use or importance |
|---|---|---|
| Livermorium dichloride | LvCl₂ | Divalent halide predicted as the most stable and accessible molecule for future chromatography tests |
| Livermorium dioxide | LvO₂ | Theoretical tetravalent oxide computationally modeled, with marked tendency to thermal decomposition |
| Livermorium difluoride | LvF₂ | Linear compound predicted by relativistic quantum chemistry as model of the divalent valence state |
Electron shell distribution
View in the atom builderIsotopes
All livermorium isotopes are radioactive and produced by artificial synthesis, with four confirmed nuclides with masses between 290 and 293. The most durable and studied isotope is livermorium-293 (²⁹³Lv), with a half-life of approximately fifty-three to sixty milliseconds decaying by alpha emission to flerovium-289. Other characterized nuclides are livermorium-291 (half-life of 18 milliseconds) and livermorium-290 (half-life of about 8 milliseconds).
Occurrence and production
It does not exist in nature nor in any detectable corner of the solar system. It is artificially produced atom by atom in heavy ion accelerators through the hot nuclear fusion reaction bombarding curium-248 rotating targets with heavy calcium-48 projectiles at high kinetic energy. The reaction cross-section is minuscule (a few picobarns), obtaining scarce atoms per cyclotron operation week.
History and origin of the name
It was first synthesized on July 19, 2000 at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR) in Dubna (Russia) by a joint Russian-American team led by Yuri Oganessian and Ken Moody of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). Initially it bore the provisional systematic name 'ununhexium' (Uuh). In May 2012, IUPAC officially ratified the name '[livermorium]' in honor of the city of Livermore (California) and the LLNL headquarters, recognizing its pioneering collaboration in transactinide discovery.
Applications and relevance of livermorium
Uses of the element
It lacks commercial, medical or energy applications since it is synthesized in microscopic atomic quantities and extinguishes in thousandths of a second. Its usefulness lies in cutting-edge scientific research: it allows mapping the quantum fission barrier at the periodic table frontier and verifying how relativity weakens high oxidation states in chalcogens.
Uses of its compounds
No macroscopic samples of its compounds have been synthesized; its theoretical molecules are explored through advanced computational chemistry models with four-component relativistic equations.
Health, safety and environment
Biological role
It fulfills no biological function in nature nor interacts with living beings since it exists exclusively in ultra-high vacuum chambers in accelerators.
Safety
Radiological protection concerns exclusively operators facing the cyclotron heavy ion beam and radioactive curium-248 target handling.
Environment
It generates no ecological waste with environmental impact since produced atoms are counted in units and decay immediately.
Frequently asked questions about Livermorium
Why was livermorium named in honor of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory of California?
California's Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) collaborated closely for over two decades with the Dubna Institute supplying purified actinide nuclear targets and state-of-the-art detectors. In 2012, IUPAC approved naming element 116 livermorium to honor the city of Livermore and the American laboratory for its international leadership in superheavy element research and synthesis.
Why is livermorium expected to favor the +2 oxidation state?
Livermorium is in group 16, below polonium. Theoretical calculations indicate that, due to relativistic effects, some of its outer electrons could participate less in bonds. This could favor the +2 oxidation state over higher ones, usual in lighter group elements. However, livermorium chemistry has not been studied enough to confirm these predictions experimentally.
Could livermorium be the densest and most refractory metal of all chalcogens?
Unlike gaseous oxygen and non-metallic sulfur, group 16 elements become markedly metallic when descending the periodic table. Theoretical solid-state chemistry models predict that solid livermorium would crystallize in a dense metallic lattice with a specific weight close to thirteen grams per cubic centimeter, behaving as a heavy transition metal with silvery shine.
What advances in superconducting magnets are required to synthesize new livermorium isotopes?
Nuclear fusion cross-sections to create livermorium are around a picobarn, requiring beam intensities ten times more powerful than current ones. Dubna and RIKEN nuclear centers have installed new-generation accelerators with radiofrequency cavities and superconducting magnets capable of delivering hundreds of trillions of ions per second, allowing exploration of longer-lived and more neutron-rich isotopes of element 116.
How did curium-248 become the indispensable nuclear target for synthesizing livermorium?
To create element 116 through collisions with calcium-48 (twenty protons), a target with exactly ninety-six protons was required: curium. Curium-248 isotope was produced in Oak Ridge's High Flux Isotope Reactor by irradiating plutonium for years. Its high mass contributed the necessary neutrons for the compound nucleus to survive the collision without being destroyed by instantaneous spontaneous fission.
How did livermorium help confirm flerovium's existence?
In superheavy element physics, new nuclei are identified following their radioactive 'family tree'. When scientists created livermorium-293 in 2000, they observed that this nucleus expelled an alpha particle within a few milliseconds transforming directly into flerovium-289. This experimental sequence confirmed at the same time the synthesis and nuclear properties of both elements indisputably.
Why is it so hard to conduct chemical experiments with livermorium?
Known livermorium isotopes disintegrate in very little time and very few atoms are produced. This makes it difficult to transport them to equipment, make them react with other substances and record the result before they disappear. For now, most of the chemical properties attributed to it come from theoretical calculations and comparisons with other group elements.
Main sources consulted: PubChem, Royal Society of Chemistry, NIST, IUPAC. Last revision: November 2026.