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Rutherfordium is an element named in honour of Ernest Rutherford, the eminent scientist of New Zealand. It is not available in nature and hence is called a synthetic element. It can only be prepared in a laboratory. Its Atomic symbol is “Rf” and its atomic number is 104. Its Atomic weight is 265 and the atomic mass is 260.9g/mol. It was first discovered by the scientists of the Nuclear Institute of Dubna in Russia.
Key Terms: Rutherfordium, Element, Atomic Mass, Atomic Number, Oxidation State, Atom, Hafnium, Isotopes
What is Rutherfordium?
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Rutherfordium is a synthetic chemical element that has an atomic number of 104 and is represented by the symbol “Rf”, named after the physicist Ernest Rutherford from New Zealand. It is a synthetic element as it cannot exist naturally and can only be prepared in the laboratory. It is often created by bombarding Carbon-12 nuclei on Californium-249.
Rutherfordium
It is present in the 4th group and the 7th period, in the d block of the modern periodic table. Its Relative atomic mass is 267 and its state at room temperature is solid. Its electronic configuration is [Rn]5f146d27s2 and it has one isotope 265Rf. Its CAS number is 53850-36-5.
Rutherfordium is radioactive in nature and hence is harmful to living organisms.
Rutherfordium Discovery
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The discovery of Rutherfordium is said to be controversial as there is confusion between who discovered rutherfordium. The discovery was first reported in 1964 by a group of scientists in Dubna, Russia. The Joint Institute of Nuclear Research at Dubna, Russia, U.S.S.R. had had a group of Russian scientists working who declared the discovery of element 104. The element discovered was named kurchatovium, after the soviet nuclear physicist’s name Igor Kurchatov, its symbol was Ku. An isotope that had 0.3 seconds of half-life was produced and named 260Rf. The half-life was later changed to 0.15 seconds.
However a group of Americans Scientists at the Lawrence Radiation Laboratory of the University of California, Berkeley attempted in the year 1969 to imitate the result that was found by The Dubna Group, for the identified isotope. They claimed to have been able to identify the isotopes of the rutherfordium which were different from the one found in the U.S.S.R. lab. They had followed a different method to produce four different isotopes of Rutherfordium. However, It was not confirmed in their report if the discovered isotope was 260Rf.
Properties of Rutherfordium
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There are various properties of Rutherfordium listed below:
- It is known as the first transactinide atom. It is in a solid-state and has properties similar to hafnium and is highly radioactive.
- It is present in the d-block of the periodic table and is present in the 7th period and the 4th Group.
- It is similar to a trans-uranium element. It is manufactured synthetically, as it is not produced naturally.
- Rutherfordium has 12 isotopes that are identified along with their half-lives. The 265Rf is the most stable of the 12 isotopes and has a half-life of about 13 hours and can be decayed by fission.
- It has a stable +4 oxidation state and can also form a less stable state of +3.
- It has a Hexagonal Closed packed crystal structure.
- It has a density of about 17g/cm3.
- Its atomic radius is 150pm.
Chemical Properties of Rutherfordium
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The chemical properties of Rutherfordium are:
| Properties of Rutherfordium | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Group | 4 | Melting point | Unknown |
| Period | 7 | Boiling point | Unknown |
| Block | d | Density (g cm−3) | Unknown |
| Atomic number | 104 | Relative atomic mass | [267] |
| State at 20°C | Solid | Key isotopes | 265Rf |
| Electron configuration | [Rn]5f14 6d2 7s2 | CAS number | 53850-36-5 |
| ChemSpider ID | 11201447 | ChemSpider is a free chemical structure database. | |
Uses of Rutherfordium
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Rutherfordium has no uses, as it is only used for research purposes.
Rutherfordium Electron Configuration
Things to Remember
- Rutherfordium is an element named in honour of Ernest Rutherford, the eminent scientist of Britain. It is not available in nature and hence is called a synthetic element.
- Rutherford can only be prepared in a laboratory. Its Atomic symbol is “Rf” and its atomic number is 104. Its Atomic weight is 265 and the atomic mass is 260.9g/mol. It was first discovered by the scientists of the Nuclear Institute of Dubna in Russia.
- It is present in the 4th group and the 7th period, in the d block of the modern periodic table. Its Relative atomic mass is 267 and its state at room temperature is solid. Its electronic configuration is [Rn]5f146d27s2 and it has one isotope 265Rf. Its CAS number is 53850-36-5.
- Rutherfordium is radioactive in nature and hence is harmful for living organisms.
- The discovery was first reported in 1964 by a group of scientists in Dubna, Russia.
- However a group of Americans Scientists at the Lawrence Radiation Laboratory of the University of California, Berkeley attempted in the year 1969 to imitate the result that was found by The Dubna Group, for the identified isotope.
Sample Questions
Ques. Is rutherfordium a solid, liquid, or gas? How does it affect your health? (3 Marks)
Ans. Elements can also be classified according to the physical condition of solids, liquids, and gases. Rutherfordium is a transition metal found in the periodic table between groups 3-12. This item is solid.
Its effects on human health have not yet been studied, as it is a very unstable element and is produced in small quantities. Laboratory isotopes rapidly decompose into other stable elements, leaving little room for experimentation to discover different properties and effects on humans, environmental, or reactions with other elements.
Ques. Where is Rutherfordium and how is it used? (2 Marks)
Ans. It is a synthetic element. Not available in nature. It is artificially prepared in the laboratory. Scientists from the Atomic Energy Society in Dubna, Russia discovered it, and another team of researchers later discovered it at the University of California, USA. This element is named after the famous physicist Ernest Rutherford. Its use is limited due to the small number of elements produced and the need for much research to learn more about rutherfordium. Mainly used in scientific research.
Ques. What are the uses of the rutherfordium element? (2 Marks)
Ans. Transuranium elements confirm or expand our understanding of what stabilizes or destabilizes nuclei. We also review many rules for ordering electronic energy conditions. Rutherfordium is one of many of them.
Ques. Why is element 104 called Rutherfordium instead of Kurchatovium? (3 Marks)
Ans. The controversy over element naming began in the 1960s, with 6-10 new elements being discovered in modern times. The interventionist party is IUPAC, named item 104-109 in the 1990s after evaluating the results and proposals of both groups.
Therefore, JINR had to, fortunately, hand over element 104 to LBL, whose element 104 was named after Igor Kurchatov (father of the Soviet nuclear bomb project) and named after Ernest Rutherford, father of physics. It was named nuclear power. However, they managed to get item 105, named after Dubna, Russia.
In this way, the Cold War hegemony and thirst for power led to the discovery of so many new elements that forced IUPAC to devise the systematic naming system it had used so far.
Ques. What are the chemistries of Rutherfordium? (2 Marks)
Ans. Rutherfordium should have similar chemistries to hafnium, but little is known due to its radioactivity (the most stable isotope, 267Rf, has a half-life of 1.3 hours, but the most accessible one has a half-life. Is less than 1 minute). Several molecules and ions are known, including rutherfordium: RfCl4, RfBr4, RfOCl2, [RfF6] (2-), [RfCl6] (2-).
Ques. Is Rutherfordium Metallic, Non-Metallic, or Metalloid? (3 Marks)
Ans. The chemical element rutherfordium is classified as a transition metal. Discovered in the 1960s by a team of scientists led by Georgy Frolov. Rutherfordium was the first transactinide or superheavy element to be discovered. Researchers have calculated that isotope 259 has been created. The name Rutherfordium (Rf) was given in honour of Ernest Rutherford, known as the father of nuclear physics and nuclear chemistry. Rutherfordium is the first transaction element and the second member of the 6d series of transition metals.
Ques. Is Rutherfordium Radioactive? (2 Marks)
Ans. Rutherfordium is a highly radioactive chemical element. Its more stable isotope Rf265 averages about 13 hours. Rutherfordium is a synthetic element, so it does not exist freely in the environment.
Ques. What is the state of rutherfordium? (2 Marks)
Ans. It is a very rare element and can only be produced in the laboratory with a half-life of about 1.3 hours.
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