Volume 99, Issue 7-8 -

We summarize historical perspective of the transuranium elements, neptunium (Np) through lawrencium (Lr), and recent progress on production, and nuclear and chemical properties of these elements. Exotic decay properties of heavy nuclei are also introduced. Chemical properties of transuranium elements in aqueous and solid states are summarized based on the actinide concept.

A short review of the studies of superheavy nuclei (SHN), done recently in our theoretical group of Warsaw, is presented. Main attention is given to description of the properties of SHN. The description is performed by macroscopic–microscopic methods. Such properties as mass, α -decay energy and α -decay half-life are considered. Special attention is devoted to the analysis of the half-life. Although mainly treated in a phenomenological way, the role of the microscopic structure of a nucleus in this quantity is tested. It is found that this structure may significantly change the half-life of nuclei with the odd nucleon (or nucleons).

The new elements from Z  = 107 to 112 were synthesized in cold fusion reactions based on targets of lead and bismuth. The principle physical concepts are presented which led to the application of this reaction type in search experiments for new elements. Described are the technical developments from early mechanical devices to experiments with recoil separators. An overview is given of present experiments which use cold fusion for systematic studies and synthesis of new isotopes. Perspectives are also presented for the application of cold fusion reactions in synthesis of elements beyond element 113, the so far heaviest element produced in a cold fusion reaction. Further, the transition of hot fusion to cold fusion is pointed out, which occurs in reactions for synthesis of elements near Z  = 126 using actinide targets and beams of neutron rich isotopes of elements from iron to germanium.

The observation of atomic numbers Z that are 40% larger than that of Bi, the heaviest stable element, is an impressive extension of nuclear survival. Although the super heavy nuclei (SHN) are at the limits of Coulomb stability, shell stabilization lowers the ground-state energy, creates a fission barrier, and thereby enables the SHE to exist. The fundamentals of the modern theory concerning the mass limits of nuclear matter have been experimentally verified.

The role of isomers for nuclei with Z ≥ 100 is discussed. Recent advances in experimental instrumentation leading to combined in-beam gamma ray and conversion electron spectroscopy are discussed. The rotational spectra of nuclei with Z ≥ 94 and their moments of inertia are discussed. Examples for in-beam spectroscopy leading to the discovery and identification of isomers are given in 248,250 Fm. Here some attention is given to the assignment of nuclear configurations from g -factors measured via the branching ratios of coupled bands built on the isomers. A full list of the longest lived isomers in nuclei with Z ≥ 82 is given.

Spectacular developments in relativistic quantum theory and computational algorithms in the last two decades allowed for accurate predictions of properties of the heaviest elements and their experimental behaviour. The most recent works in this area of investigations are overviewed. Preference is given to those related to experimental research. The role of relativistic effects is elucidated.

The experimental techniques developed to perform rapid chemical separations of the heaviest elements in the aqueous phase are presented. In general, these include transport of the nuclear reaction products to a separation device by the gas-jet technique and dissolution in an aqueous solution containing inorganic ligands for complex formation. The complexes are chemically characterized by a partition method which can be liquid–liquid extraction, ion-exchange- or reversed-phase extraction chromatography. The separated fractions are quickly evaporated to dryness for the preparation of samples for α -particle spectroscopy. Comments are given on the special situation in which chemistry has to be studied with single atoms. Theoretical predictions of chemical properties are compared to the presently known chemical behaviour of rutherfordium, Rf (element 104), dubnium, Db (element 105), seaborgium, Sg (element 106), and hassium, Hs (element 108) and to that of their lighter homologs in the Periodic Table in order to assess the role of relativistic effects in the chemistry of the heaviest elements.

Chemical studies at the upper end of the periodic table have reached atomic number 114. Recent experiments aiming at investigating chemical properties of elements Cn, 113, and 114 are summarized. Though partly preliminary, all these elements behave as expected: due to the filled 6 d 10 shell, they do not behave like transition metals anymore, as observed for the lighter transactinides. They exhibit a volatile behavior as expected for 7 s and 7 p elements. On the other hand, due to the extremely low signal to noise ratio in detectors used to identify separated products highest precaution on identifying single atoms is mandatory. As an example, published early attempts to synthesize Cn and to perform chemical studies with this element that could not be confirmed in later studies are summarized.

In recent years, significant progress in the field of superheavy element research has been achieved thanks to a novel combination of techniques from different fields. This “physical preseparation” approach includes the coupling of an ancillary setup – typically a chemistry apparatus or a counting setup – to a physical recoil separator. This latter preseparator removes unwanted nuclear reaction products as well as the intense heavy-ion beam associated with superheavy element experiments and thus isolates the evaporation residues of the nuclear fusion reactions. These are guided to the separators's focal plane, where they are extracted and available for further transport to external setups, e.g. , by a gas-jet. In this overview, the development of physical preseparation is described, and experimental results from nuclear chemistry and physics that were achieved with “preseparated” isotopes are summarized, with an emphasis on results relevant for superheavy element research. The covered topics range from chemical studies in the liquid as well as in the gas phase, the measurement of nuclear decay properties and of atomic masses. Preseparation was already shown to be a very powerful approach in these studies and promises to allow further progress in superheavy element research.