Oganesson

Oganesson:

Oganesson is the heaviest element in the periodic table, meaning it has the most protons and electrons.

Facts about Oganesson:

  • Oganesson: Elemental properties are unknown as this is a synthetic element, but it is suspected to be a noble gas.
  • Fun fact about Oganesson: This is the only element that is currently named after someone who is alive - Yuri Oganessian.
  • Chemical symbol: Og
  • Atomic number: 118

A crystal structure celebrating Oganesson:

The multi-coloured balls here represent 11 different types of elements in this structure.

Facts about this structure:

  • Formula: C48H36B2ClF2FeN8O6PPdS, CH2Cl2, 0.5(H2O)
  • Structure name:<span(?-5-(diphenylphosphorothioyl)-1,8-difluoro-11,12,17,18-tetraphenyl-N-((pyridin-2-yl)methyl)-2,7,9,14,15,20-hexaoxa-3,6,10,13,16,19-hexaaza-1,8-diborabicyclo[6.6.6]icosa-3,5,10,12,16,18-hexaen-4-aminato)-chloro-iron(ii)-palladium(ii) dichloromethane solva
  • Fun fact about the structure: This crystal is one of only five structures in the database that contain 11 different elements!
  • CSD refcode: JOBZIL (What's this?)
  • Associated publication: Oleg I. Artyushin, Irina L. Odinets, Ekaterina V. Matveeva, Anna V. Vologzhanina, Oleg A. Varzatskii, Sergey E. Lyubimov, Yan Z. Voloshin, Dalton Transactions, 2014, 43, 9677, DOI: 10.1039/C3DT53590H

More info:

Oganesson is one of the 25 elements that have yet to be observed in a crystal structure. It is a synthetic element, which means it does not occur naturally on earth. Making oganesson is a very difficult process as synthetic elements are radioactive and decay rapidly into lighter elements. Millions of atoms of calcium and californium are smashed together and scientists must try to identify the one or two atoms of oganesson that form in the fallout. Since 2005 less than 6 atoms of oganesson have been identified in experiments around the world! Given oganesson currently has the highest atomic mass number of all known elements (118), it seemed appropriate to select the structure with the highest number of elements present in it in our database! This crystal is a catalyst, which is a material that changes how quickly or how slowly a chemical reaction occurs, but isn't permanently changed itself. In this case, getting carbon atoms from different molecules to join together is the reaction of interest, due to applications in pharmaceutical industry.

More info about the International Year of the Periodic Table (IYPT) in crystals project:

This project (#IYPTCrystals) is part of the International Year of the Periodic Table celebration (#IYPT2019), read more about the project here. You can follow us on social media using #IYPTCrystals and learn more about the wonders of crystals by following the CCDC on Twitter @ccdc_cambridge on Facebook ccdc.cambridge, on Instagram ccdc_cambridge or on YouTube CCDCCambridge.

If you want to find out more about some of the terms and concepts we have a Frequently Asked Questions Page.

A visualisation showing the structure celebrating Oganesson alongside other structures published in the same scientific article:

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