Meitnerium Chemical Properties (19 Facts You Should Know)

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Meitnerium is another transuranium element that is artificially synthesized. Let us discuss various facts related to it in this article.

Meitnerium like many other transuranium elements has a synthetic origin and is synthesized from a radioactive and nuclear chemistry perspective. It shows a resemblance with the metal iridium and is deemed strong as only a few atoms of meitnerium are observed.

Meitnerium does not have many uses and applications like many main-group elements. Up Till now less than 10 atoms of meitnerium have been synthesized which cannot be isolated in observable quantities. Let us discuss various characteristics of the element like atomic number and weight, electronegativity, etc.

Meitnerium symbol

The symbol designated to the radioactive element meitnerium is Mt.

meitnerium- chemical-properties
Meitnerium symbol representation

Meitnerium group in the periodic table

Meitnerium is placed in group 9th of the periodic table because of its similarity with lighter homologous cobalt, iridium, and rhodium.

Meitnerium period in the periodic table

Meitnerium belongs to the 7th period of the periodic table.

Meitnerium block in the periodic table

Element meitnerium is present in the d-block of the periodic table where transition metals are placed. But it is in an actinide row hence it is called a transactinide element.

Meitnerium atomic number

Atomic number (Z) of meitnerium is 109.

Meitnerium atomic weight

The predicted atomic weight of meitnerium is 278 u but it cannot be confirmed as it shows easier fission and cannot be obtained in sizable quantities.

Meitnerium atomic density

Estimated atomic density of meitnerium is 27-28 g/cm3 because it cannot be isolated easily.

Meitnerium covalent radius

The covalent radius of meitnerium is 129 pm approximately because it is a heavy element according to theoreticians.

Meitnerium isotopes

Isotopes are entities where there is a difference in no. of neutrons and are responsible for most of the nuclear activities. Let us discuss it in the case of meitnerium.

Meitnerium is a radioactive element with 4 stable isotopes with different half-lives. The isotopes of meitnerium element and their half-lives are:

  • 274Mt (0.4s)
  • 276Mt (0.6s)
  • 278Mt (4s)
  • 282Mt (67s)

Meitnerium electronic shells

Electronic shells are the broader version of electron division involving the concept of principle quantum number. Let us check the same for meitnerium.

Meitnerium has 7 electronic shells according to its atomic number where the division of electrons according to the octet rule is 2, 8, 18, 32, 32, 15, 2.

Meitnerium energy of first ionization

The energy of the first ionization of meitnerium is 800 KJ/mol which is low compared to other transuranium elements.

Meitnerium energy of second ionization

The energy of the second ionization of the meitnerium element is higher than the first one and is 1820 KJ/mol.

Meitnerium energy of third ionization

The third ionization energy of meitnerium is the highest which is 2900 KJ/mol.

Meitnerium oxidation states

Meitnerium can exhibit +1, +3, +4, +6 and +8 oxidation states. Among these +1, +6, and +3 are predicted to be the most stable whereas +3 has shown stability in an aqueous state.

Meitnerium electron configuration

The predicted electron configuration of meitnerium is [Rn]5f146d77s2 where Rn is a noble gas radon.

Meitnerium CAS number

CAS number of meitnerium element is 54038-01-6.

Meitnerium chemical classification

Various chemical properties associated with meitnerium are:

  • Meitnerium is an unstable element that immediately undergoes nuclear fission.
  • It does not have any biological role due to less stability.
  • It was synthesized by the bombardment of bismuth-209 on iron-58 in a linear accelerator.

Meitnerium state at room temperature

At standard temperature and pressure conditions, meitnerium is solid and has a face-centered cubic (fcc) crystal structure.

Meitnerium allotropic forms

Allotropic forms have different arrangement of atoms despite of having same chemical composition. Let us analyze the same for meitnerium element.

There are no allotropic forms for meitnerium because it is a radioactive element with very short half-life which make it impossible to figure out its allotropic structures.

Is Meitnerium paramagnetic?

The magnetism of atomic entities is based on the electron configuration and the basis of the surrounding magnetic field. Let us find out the magnetism of meitnerium.

According to limited studies and research, meitnerium is estimated to be paramagnetic because of its attraction to the weakly applied magnetic field and the arrangement of the molecule.

Conclusion

In a nutshell, meitnerium is a transuranic element that is artificially synthesized and is stable on STP for a few seconds. Due to this not much is discovered about its physical and chemical properties which further restricts its applications and uses.