Naming the periodic table's new babies

The researchers who discovered four new elements of the periodic table last year have submitted their proposed names to the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC). The IUPAC Inorganic Chemistry Division has reviewed and considered these proposals and recommends these for acceptance.

For the element with atomic number 113, the discoverers at Japan’s RIKEN Nishina Center for Accelerator-Based Science proposed the name nihonium and the symbol Nh. Nihon is one of the two ways to say ‘Japan’ in Japanese and means ‘the Land of Rising Sun’. The name is proposed to make a direct connection to the nation where the element was discovered.

For the element with atomic number 115 the name proposed is moscovium, with the symbol Mc. For the element with atomic number 117, the name proposed is tennessine with the symbol Ts. These were proposed jointly by the discoverers at Russia’s Joint Institute for Nuclear Research and the US-based Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Vanderbilt University and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

Moscovium is in recognition of the Moscow region, honouring the home of the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, where the discovery took place using the Dubna Gas-Filled Recoil Separator in combination with the heavy ion accelerator capabilities of the Flerov Laboratory of Nuclear Reactions. Tennessine is in recognition of the contribution of the Tennessee region, including Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Vanderbilt University and the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, to superheavy element research.

For the element with atomic number 118, the teams at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory proposed the name oganesson and symbol Og. The proposal recognises Professor Yuri Oganessian for his pioneering contributions to transactinoid elements research. His many achievements include the discovery of superheavy elements and significant advances in the nuclear physics of superheavy nuclei, including experimental evidence for the ‘island of stability’.

“Although these choices may perhaps be viewed by some as slightly self-indulgent, the names are completely in accordance with IUPAC rules,” said Jan Reedijk, who invited the discoverers to make proposals. “In fact, I see it as thrilling to recognise that international collaborations were at the core of these discoveries and that these new names also make the discoveries somewhat tangible.”

A five-month public review will now take place, expiring on 8 November, prior to the formal approval by the IUPAC Council. After the lapse of the review, the final recommendations will be published in the IUPAC journal Pure and Applied Chemistry. The Provisional Recommendation regarding the naming of the four new elements can be found at http://iupac.org/recommendations/under-review-by-the-public/.