Darmstadtium (Ds)

Darmstadtium is a radioactive chemical element with an atomic number of 110 in the periodic table. Classified as transfermium, darmstadtium does not occur naturally in Earth’s crust. This noble metal has two valence electrons and belongs to the transuranium family of periodic table elements.

Chemical and Physical Properties of Darmstadtium

Property	Value
The symbol in the periodic table of elements	Ds
Atomic number	110
Atomic weight (mass)	281 g.mol-1
Group number	10
Period	7
Color	Silvery-white metal
Physical state	Solid at room temperature
Half-life	3(+6−2) milliseconds to 9.6 seconds
Electronegativity according to Pauling	N/A
Density	N/A
Melting point	N/A
Boiling point	N/A
Van der Waals radius	N/A
Ionic radius	N/A
Isotopes	11
Most characteristic isotope	281Ds
Electronic shell	[Rn] 5f146d97s1
The energy of the first ionization	N/A
The energy of the second ionization	N/A
Discovery date	In 1994 by Peter Armbruster, Gottfried Münzenberg, and Sigurd Hofmann

Darmstadtium is a radioactive metal represented in the D-Block of the periodic table with the symbol Ds, atomic number 110, atomic mass of 281 g.mol-1, and electron configuration [Rn] 5f146d97s1. It’s assumed that this super-heavy element shares its chemical properties with platinum, palladium, and nickel.                       

How Was Darmstadtium Discovered?

In the 1990s, the chemical element with an atomic mass of 110 was a subject of interest to several teams of scientists. The teams employed at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR) in Dubna, Russia, and at the German Gesellschaft für Schwerionenforschung (GSI) in Darmstadt, Germany, were among the first ones who attempted to synthesize this super-heavy radioactive element. Unfortunately, all their efforts were futile.  

Shortly after the experimental attempts of the Russian and German teams of scientists, the team at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), California, United States, attempted to follow their example. Led by Albert Ghiorso, the Berkeley team succeeded in producing the darmstadtium-267 isotope by bombarding bismuth with cobalt. However, they were unable to provide evidence and support their scientific finding. 

Finally, the first atoms of this highly radioactive metal were first produced at the GSI Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research in 1994. The team of German scientists, led by the nuclear physicists Peter Armbruster (1931), Gottfried Münzenberg (1940), and Sigurd Hofmann (1944), attempted to bombard a lead target with nickel-62 ions in a heavy ion accelerator during several consecutive days.

The reaction between the lead atoms and nickel ions accelerated by a universal linear accelerator helped the team detect a single atom of the isotope darmstadtium-269. Encouraged by this success, the team of scientists later successfully produced nine more atoms of the new synthetic element. 

How Did Darmstadtium Get Its Name?

Temporarily named as ununnilium (Uun), this chemical element got its name after the city of Darmstadt, Germany, where the element was first produced. The name darmstadtium was proposed by the team who succeeded in producing the first known atoms of this noble metal, in honor of Darmstadt, the location where their revolutionary experiment took place in 1994. 

Where Can You Find Darmstadtium?

Being a man-made substance, the elemental form of this chemical element cannot be found free in nature. 

Darmstadtium in Everyday Life

Since its properties are yet to be researched and studied, darmstadtium finds its application only in scientific research and experimental chemistry. 

How Dangerous Is Darmstadtium?

As a result of the instability of its isotopes, darmstadtium is not yet studied in regard to the effects on human health and has no known biological role. 

Environmental Effects of Darmstadtium

Despite being highly radioactive, darmstadtium has no known effect on the environment due to its extremely short half-life. 

Isotopes of Darmstadtium

All isotopes of this synthetically produced substance are highly radioactive. Their atomic mass ranges from 279-281, while the half-lives of the isotopes are measured in microseconds. Due to their short lives, the isotopes of darmstadtium undergo spontaneous decay or alpha decay.  

Having a half-life of 9.6 seconds, darmstadtium-281 is the longest-lived and most stable isotope of darmstadtium. It decays into hassium-277 via the emission of alpha-particles or through spontaneous fission. 

Nuclide [n 1]	Z	N	Isotopic mass (Da) [n 2][n 3]	Half-life	Decay mode [n 4]	Daughter isotope	Spin and parity [n 5][n 6]
	Excitation energy
267Ds[n 7]	110	157	267.14377(15)#	3(+6−2) µs	α ?	263Hs ?	9/2+#
269Ds	110	159	269.14475(3)	230(110) µs [179(+245−66) µs]	α	265Hs	3/2+#
270Ds	110	160	270.14458(5)	160(100) µs [0.10(+14−4) ms]	α	266Hs	0+
270mDs	1140(70) keV			10(6) ms [6.0(+82−22) ms]	α	266Hs	(10)(−#)
271Ds	110	161	271.14595(10)#	210(170) ms	α	267Hs	11/2−#
271mDs	29(29) keV			1.3(5) ms	α	267Hs	9/2+#
273Ds	110	163	273.14856(14)#	0.17(+17−6) ms	α	269Hs	13/2−#
277Ds[n 8]	110	167	277.15591(41)#	3.5 ms[1]	α	273Hs	11/2+#
279Ds[n 9]	110	169	279.16010(64)#	0.18(+5−3) s	SF (90%)	(various)
					α (10%)	275Hs
280Ds[n 10]	110	170	280.16131(89)#	6.7 ms[2][3]	SF	(various)	0+
281Ds[n 11]	110	171	281.16451(59)#	9.6 s	SF (94%)	(various)	3/2+#
					α (6%)	277Hs

Source: Wikipedia

List of Darmstadtium Compounds

Since there’s not much scientific data on this chemical element, five oxidation states have been predicted for this substance: 0, 8, 2, 4, and 6. 

5 Interesting Facts and Explanations

1. Darmstadtium is considered to be a noble metal.
2. The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry confirmed the name of darmstadtium in 2003.
3. The chemical elements that occur in solid metal form and are extremely resistant to oxidation, high temperatures, have anti-corrosive properties, and do not form strong reactions with acids, are classified as noble metals. 
4. The list of noble metals consists of ruthenium (Ru), rhodium (Rh), palladium (Pd), osmium (Os), iridium (Ir), platinum (Pt), copper (Cu), silver (Ag), rhenium (Re), mercury (Hg), and gold (Au), with few other additions. 
5. Darmstadtium is also classified as a transfermium element, i.e. a chemical element with an atomic mass above 100.