Dubnium was first discovered in 1967 by scientists at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna while bombarding americium atoms with neon ions. In the same year, a team from the University of California bombarded californium atoms with nitrogen ions and obtained dubnium-260. However, the IUPAC assessed the claims of two groups in 1992 and concluded that the credit for the discovery of the element Dubnium should be shared by both the teams.
Basic Information
| Name |
Dubnium |
| Symbol |
Db |
| Atomic number |
105 |
| Atomic weight |
268 amu |
| Standard state |
Presumably a solid at 298 K |
| CAS Registry ID |
53850-35-4 |
| Group in periodic table |
5 |
| Period in periodic table |
7 |
| Block in periodic table |
d-block |
| Color |
Unknown, but probably metallic and silvery white or grey in appearance |
| Classification |
Metallic |
| Melting point |
Unknown |
| Boiling point |
Unknown |
| Density |
Unknown |
| Phase at room temperature |
Solid |
Occurrence
Dubnium does not occur in nature.
Dubnium (version 1) - Periodic Table of Videos
Isotopes
Dubnium has 12 isotopes with known half-lives and mass numbers ranging from 256 to 270. All are unstable isotopes. The most stable isotope is 268Db having a half-life of 32 h.
Production
Fusion of californium-249 isotope with nitrogen ions produces dubnium-260 and four neutrons.
249Cf + 15N → 260Db + 4n
Another method of producing dubnium is bombarding berkelium with nitrogen ions .
249Bk + 16N → 261Db + 4n
However, very small quantities of dubnium have been made so far.
Key Properties
The key properties of dubnium include the following:
- It is a radioactive metal
- It is extremely unstable
- It is likely to share characteristics similar to that of tantalum.
Applications
Applications of dubnium are presently limited to scientific research.
Sources and Further Reading
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