- Livermorium (Lv) is a synthetic, radioactive element with atomic number 116, belonging to Group 16 of the periodic table, directly beneath polonium.
- It is part of the transactinide series and is classified as a p-block element. Its predicted electron configuration is [Rn] 5f¹⁴ 6d¹⁰ 7s² 7p⁴, consistent with other Group 16 elements such as oxygen, sulfur, selenium, tellurium, and polonium.
- Livermorium is expected to display a +2 oxidation state as its most stable form, with +4 and +6 being possible but less favored due to relativistic effects stabilizing the 7s² electron pair. The atom contains one hundred and sixteen protons, around one hundred and seventy-five to one hundred and seventy-nine neutrons depending on the isotope, and one hundred and sixteen electrons arranged in seven shells.
- The most stable known isotope is livermorium-293 (²⁹³Lv), with a half-life of about 60 milliseconds, though some isotopes survive for slightly longer.
- Livermorium was first synthesized on July 19, 2000, at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR) in Dubna, Russia, by a Russian-American collaboration between scientists at JINR and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) in the United States. The discovery was achieved by bombarding a target of curium-248 (²⁴⁸Cm) with calcium-48 (⁴⁸Ca) ions, producing atoms of livermorium-293 (²⁹³Lv). Further experiments in the following years confirmed the element’s production and decay chains.
- The element was named livermorium in honor of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore, California, which partnered in the discovery. The name also indirectly honors the city of Livermore. The symbol Lv and the name were officially approved by IUPAC in 2012.
- Livermorium has no practical uses outside of scientific research. Because of its extremely short half-life and production in only a few atoms, it is studied primarily to explore the chemistry of superheavy elements and test nuclear models that predict the “island of stability.”
- Chemically, livermorium is expected to behave like polonium, although relativistic effects may alter its properties significantly. The +2 oxidation state is predicted to be most stable, contrasting with lighter Group 16 elements that more commonly exhibit higher oxidation states. Compounds such as livermorium(II) oxide (LvO) or livermorium(II) chloride (LvCl₂) are theoretically possible, but no experimental chemical studies have yet been conducted. Some calculations even suggest livermorium might be more metallic and less reactive than expected for a Group 16 element.
- Biologically, livermorium has no natural role and would be extremely radiotoxic. However, because of its rapid decay, it poses no realistic biological or medical risk.
- Environmentally, livermorium does not occur naturally and exists only in particle accelerators under controlled laboratory conditions. It decays rapidly into lighter elements, leaving no environmental impact.
