Tenness is a superheavy, short-lived, unstable and therefore radioactive chemical element that belongs to the group of halogens. The discovery was made in 2010. The first report appeared in 2010 [1]. In their article, the authors describe the discovery of the two isotopes 293Ts and 294Ts, which result from the fusion of 48Ca and 249Bk nuclides:
4820Ca + 24997Bk → 297117Ts* → 294117Ts + 3 10n.
4820Ca + 24997Bk → 297117Ts* → 293117Ts + 4 10n.
Tennessine has been the official international designation for element 117 since November 2016.
The proposed name honors the Tennessee region of the United States, home to the research facilities involved in the discovery, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Vanderbilt University and the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.The name suffix -ine was chosen for the English name because Tennessine is a member of the seventh main group of the periodic table (halogens) and the halogens in English carry this suffix (fluorine, chlorine, etc.).
Employment and research on this element is for academic purposes only; there are no technical or other practical applications.
Due to its position in the periodic table, tennessine probably has 7 valence electrons: 7s2 7p3. The electron configuration is:
| 1s | 2s | 2p | 3s | 3p | 3d | 4s | 4p | 4d | 4f | 5s | 5p | 5d | 5f | 6s | 6p | 6d | 6f | 7s | 7p |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 6 | 10 | 2 | 6 | 10 | 14 | 2 | 6 | 10 | 14 | 2 | 6 | 10 | 2 | 5 |
Shorthand electron configuration of Tennessine: [Rn] 5f14 6d10 7s2 7p5.
The following table lists the ionization energies IE (ionization potentials); the IE is the energy required in electron volt (eV) per atom to separate a given electron from an Tennessine atom.
| IE1 | IE2 | IE3 | IE4 | IE5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7.634 | 14.871 | 22.397 | 41.574 | 52.591 |
An overview of the nuclides as well as the isotopic data and properties are listed on the following page: Tennessine isotopes.
The ongoing data are estimates or rough predictions based in particular on the position in the periodic table. It is not to be expected that more precise data and properties of the element tennessine can be measured in the near future. The listing here is for the sake of completeness.
[1] - Yu. Ts. Oganessian et al.:
Synthesis of a New Element with Atomic Number Z=117.
In: Physical Review Letters, (2010), DOI 10.1103/PhysRevLett.104.142502.
[2] - J. Khuyagbaatar et al.:
48Ca + 249Bk Fusion Reaction Leading to Element Z = 117: Long-Lived α-Decaying 270Db and Discovery of 266Lr.
In: Physical Review Letters, (2014), DOI 10.1103/PhysRevLett.112.172501.
[3] - James B. Roberto:
The Discovery of Element 117.
In: Progress in Nuclear Science and Technology, (2018), DOI 10.15669/pnst.5.14.
[4] - J. B. Roberto, K. P. Rykaczewski:
Discovery of Element 117: Super-heavy elements and the island of stability.
In: Separation Science and Technology, (2017), DOI 10.1080/01496395.2017.1290658.
Last update: 2022-11-28
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