The inorganic chemistry division of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) has reviewed and considered proposed names of three new elements of the periodic table -- 115, 117 and 118 -- following reports that the claims for discovery of these elements have been fulfilled.
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna, Russia (JINR), were credited late last year for discovering elements 115 and 118, while LLNL, JINR, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Vanderbilt University and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, were jointly credited with the discovery of element 117.
Subsequently, IUPAC invited the discoverers to propose names for these new elements.
Moscovium (Mc) has been provisionally recommended for element 115 in recognition of the Moscow region and honouring the ancient Russian land that is home to JINR. Moscow is the capital of the region.
Tennessine (Ts) is proposed for element 117, recognising the contribution of Tennessee research centres ORNL, Vanderbilt and the University of Tennessee to superheavy element research.
The provisional name for element 118 is Oganesson (Og) in recognition of the pioneering contributions of Yuri Oganessian to superheavy element research.
A five-month public review has now been set, expiring November 8, prior to the formal approval by the IUPAC Council.
These new elements were discovered using the "hot fusion" approach, developed and implemented by Oganessian at JINR.
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