Nh
286.000Nihonium
Nihonyum
Nihonium is a synthetic superheavy element with atomic number 113. It was discovered by RIKEN in Japan, is the first element discovered in Asia, and is studied through short-lived isotopes such as nihonium-286.
113
286 g/mol
[Rn] 5f¹⁴ 6d¹⁰ 7s² 7p¹
2 | 8 | 18 | 32 | 32 | 18 | 3
—
16 g/cm³
426.9 °C
1126.8 °C
RIKEN
Nihonium was first synthesized by the RIKEN team led by Kosuke Morita in 2004 using zinc-70 ions on a bismuth-209 target. IUPAC approved the name in 2016; “Nihon” is a Japanese name for Japan.
Nihonium-278
Half-life: About 2.3 milliseconds. First isotope reported in RIKEN direct synthesis experiments.Nihonium-286
Half-life: About 10-20 seconds. Longest-lived commonly cited nihonium isotope; values vary by nuclear data source.- Superheavy nuclear decay-chain research
- Testing predicted Group 13 chemistry below thallium
- Studies of relativistic inert-pair effects in 7p elements
Nihonium has no biological role. It is synthetic, radioactive and exists only briefly in accelerator experiments.
- Nihonium is the first element discovered in Japan and the first element discovered in Asia.
- RIKEN produced only a few atoms over years of experiments, showing how rare direct superheavy synthesis events are.
- The element is predicted to show strong inert-pair effects, making +1 chemistry important relative to +3.
- Nihonium has atomic number 113 and symbol Nh.
- Its predicted electron configuration is [Rn] 5f¹⁴ 6d¹⁰ 7s² 7p¹.
- Nihonium is a Group 13 superheavy element below thallium.
- Remember Nihon means Japan; nihonium is tied to RIKEN and Asian element discovery.
What is the atomic number of nihonium?
The atomic number of nihonium is 113.
What is the electron configuration of nihonium?
Nihonium is commonly listed with the predicted electron configuration [Rn] 5f¹⁴ 6d¹⁰ 7s² 7p¹.
What is nihonium used for?
Nihonium has no commercial use; it is used only in superheavy element nuclear research.
Who discovered nihonium?
Nihonium was discovered by the RIKEN team in Japan led by Kosuke Morita.
Why is nihonium important?
Nihonium is the first element discovered in Asia and completed part of the seventh period naming set approved in 2016.