SCIENCE/TECHNOLOGY
Shuffling Of Heavy-Element Names by IUPAC Panel Provokes Outcries • Controversy centers on rejection of two names— seaborgium and hassium, which are dear to U.S. and German scientists Ron Dagani, C&EN Washington
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of the principal players—the U.S., Rus sia, and Germany—and assume a more global outlook. According to sources, commission members simply wanted to name the elements after deserving people and places, without undue regard to which group had the strongest claim to that element's discovery and without un due regard to what names had already been proposed for that element. "It was a difficult, delicate situation," ob serves one U.S. chemist with ties to IUPAC. "The commission was working under a lot of pressure, trying—in good faith—to compromise." When it was all over, "we left [the meeting] feeling we had made states manlike decisions," says CNIC mem ber Herbert D. Kaesz, professor of chemistry at the University of Califor nia, Los Angeles. The chosen names
aren't "necessarily scientifically justi fied," he adds, but "we honestly thought people would accept [them]." As Kaesz admits now, the choices have pleased al most no one. In the U.S., the controversy centers on elements 104, 105, and 106. Researchers at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory (LBL) in California and a group at the Joint In stitute for Nuclear Research in Dubna, Russia, both claim to have discovered 104 and 105, giving them, by tradition, the right to propose names for the new elements. The Transfermium Working Group (TWG), an international commit tee set up to resolve such disputes, de cided in 1992 that the Berkeley and Dub na labs should share credit. But the two groups have not been able to agree on the names. Since 1970, the Americans have been calling 104 "rutherfordium" (after British physicist Ernest Rutherford) and 105 "hahnium" b (after German radiochemist Otto δ Hahn). The Russians wanted to
he International Union of Pure & Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) has a hot potato on its hands. On Aug. 31, an IUPAC-sponsored panel of chemists who work outside the esoteric field of heavy-element chemistry recommended element names that re searchers within that field should use. With the names they chose, and the pro posed names they rejected, these "out siders" alienated, disappointed, and even angered many nuclear scientists, particularly those in the U.S. and Germany who have been closely involved in the creation and study of elements 104 to 109. Those scientists have rebelled against IUPACs recommenda tions, leading to an uncomfort able international standoff. The problem with the IUPAC panel, according to scientists in the heavy-element community, is that its 20 members are unquali fied to make such decisions. They lack an intimate knowl edge and understanding of the fractious issues at the heart of the decades-old controversy over the discovery and naming of elements beyond fermium (element 100). However, the panelists of I UP AC's Commission on No menclature of Inorganic Chemis try (CNIC) may have viewed their "outsider" status as an ad vantage: It allowed them to look beyond the personal and nation alistic rivalries and sensitivities Seaborg pointing to element 106, seaborgium.
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name 104 "kurchatovium," in honor of nuclear physicist Igor Kurchatov, the father of the Soviet atomic bomb program. For 105, the Russians proposed "nielsbohrium," after Danish physicist Niels Bohr. CNIC, at the Aug. 31 meeting in Balatonfiired, Hungary, didn't adopt any of these names for 104 and 105. But it apparently decid ed to use these two disputed slots to give the Russians more of a say in the naming of elements in the periodic table. According to several U.S. and German scientists, the Russians deserve more credit for their work in heavy-element chemis try than they've gotten in the past. For example, the Dubna group hasn't been recognized for its work on element 102. An in ternational team based in Stock holm claimed discovery of this element in 1957 and dubbed it DECEMBER 5, 1994 C&EN
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SCIENCE/TECHNOLOGY
Unhappiness over 'seaborgium' rejection isn't universal Researchers whose work involves the more than two dozen chemists and heaviest elements are upset with the physicists around the world on this isnames the International Union of sue, but most never bothered to rePure & Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) spond. One Nobel Prize winner wants to call these elements. But begged off, saying it was not a major their displeasure is not shared by issue and that "there are many more many scientists outside the small important things to worry about." heavy-element community. However, chemistry professor Josef When IUPAC's Commission on No- Michl of the University of Colorado, menclature of Inorganic Chemistry Boulder, responded, saying that the is(CNIC) rejected the name "seaborgi- sue of element naming "is of some um" for element 106 because Glenn T. importance, but not of overwhelming Seaborg is still living, members of the importance to chemistry. I can see arCalifornia team that first created 106 guments on both sides of the 'seaborand proposed that name reacted with gium' issue and personally tend to shock and disappointment. And the agree that it is better not to name eleSan Francisco Chronicle ran an editori-ments after living persons, even such al branding the commission's action as meritorious ones as Seaborg. After an "international outrage" and, at best, all, there are many other established "a pusillanimous insult to one of Amer- ways of honoring them. But then, I would not have gone through the ica's grand old men of science." That reaction was understandable, roof if [the IUPAC commission had because Seaborg, currently associate accepted seaborgium]." Peter P. Gaspar, a chemistry prodirector-at-large at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, is "like an institution" in fessor at Washington University, St. the Bay Area, according to one local Louis, reports that there was "considerable interest" in the announcement observer. One of Seaborg's Berkeley col- of the new element names at his unileagues, Albert Ghiorso, says, "I have versity, which has an active nuclear yet to find someone who thinks the chemistry program. "While Seaborg commission did a good thing." Indeed, has certainly made tremendous conmany scientists outside California also tributions to the discovery of the were dismayed by CMC's rejection of transuranium elements, there are "seaborgium." But "the average chem- great scientists who have not been ist on the street is not very exercised honored by [having an element over this issue," admits David F. Eaton, named after them]," he says. One could argue that Isaac Newton and a research manager at DuPont. Using electronic mail, C&EN polled Galileo contributed to the discovery
"nobelium" in honor of Alfred Nobel's contributions to the advancement of science. The Russians also claimed 102's discovery and wanted to name it "joliotium," after Frédéric Joliot-Curie, the French physicist. The Swedish work later was found to be in error, but the name "nobelium" stuck. The TWG report eventually gave the Russians major credit for discovering 102, even though the Berkeley group also was actively studying the element. Because 102 has been called "nobelium" for more than 30 years, CNIC decided to keep the name, depriving the Russians of their last chance to have it renamed "joliotium." But in a conciliatory bow to Dubna, CNIC reassigned "joliotium" to 105. And in another daring—though controversial—move, the commission decided to name 104 "dubnium," to recognize 26
DECEMBER 5, 1994 C&EN
explicitly the accomplishments of the Dubna lab, located near Moscow. Where "dubnium" came from, though, is still unclear. "The Russians had never officially suggested that name," notes retired nuclear chemist E. Kenneth Hulet from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. "The name they've always stuck with [for 104] is kurchatovium. Dubnium came out of the blue." In any case, the Berkeley group is upset over CNIC's choices for 104 and 105. The group believes it has a stronger case for the discovery of these two elements, and therefore its names should have been accepted, especially because "rutherfordium" and "hahnium" have been used for 104 and 105 for more than 20 years. But what really incenses the Americans is CNIC's rejection of "seaborgium" for element 106. There's no dispute that
of new elements through their work on the fundamental principles of physics and deserve to have elements named after them, he continues. "My colleagues feel that Seaborg has achieved such wide recognition that they are not upset by element 106 not carrying his name." Douglas R. O. Morrison, a physicist at CERN, the European particlephysics research center in Geneva, took the initiative and polled about 20 of his colleagues for C&EN. He found that the older physicists were against naming an element after a living person. But younger physicists had no problem with it, pointing out that equations, theories, processes, chemical reactions, and comets are named after living people. According to Morrison, one of his younger colleagues wondered: "Is IUPAC suggesting that in order to get an element named after yourself, you have to discover it and then go out and commit suicide?" Perhaps, Morrison suggests, the rule should be that elements cannot be named after an active researcher. If that were the rule, "the only pressure on [Seaborg] would be to retire, not to die—and the responsibility on the [IUPAC commission members] would be lighter." In any case, Morrison remarks, "If Berkeley decides to continue using the name seaborgium, who can stop them?"
106 was created for the first time by a collaborative team at LBL and Livermore. Earlier this year, after that discovery had been confirmed by a different team at Berkeley, the original discovery team, headed by Albert Ghiorso of Berkeley and Hulet of Livermore, proposed naming the element after one of their colleagues, Glenn T. Seaborg, who is 82 (C&EN, March 21, page 5). Although no element has ever been officially named after a living person, the discoverers of 106 saw nothing wrong with setting a precedent. When "seaborgium" was unveiled with great fanfare at an American Chemical Society meeting in San Diego last March, it achieved instant acceptance in the U.S. The name already has shown up in periodic tables published this year in a prestigious physics journal and an encyclopedia of inorganic chemistry.
So it was like a splash of ice water in the face when the IUPAC commission threw out "seaborgium," voting that no element should be named after a living person because someone's wor thiness for the honor can only become clear with the fullness of time. The suggestion that Seaborg's accom plishments haven't "passed the test of time is ridiculous/' according to David F. Eaton, a research manager at DuPont who also is active in IUPAC affairs. Seaborg, a codiscoverer of 10 transuranium elements, is a leading figure in heavyelement chemistry, he notes. "There's no question in my mind that he de serves to be honored in this way." Eaton thinks that CNIC, in voting 16 to 4 not to name elements after living sci entists, was trying "to avoid facing the issue—it's an artful dodge." Several other scientists who spoke with C&EN expressed similar strong support for naming 106 "seaborgium." But having eliminated that name from consideration, the commission members then exacerbated the problem by voting to name 106 "rutherfordium." They may have thought that this name would be an acceptable substitute because it also had been proposed by a Berkeley team. But "rutherfordium" had been proposed for a different element by a different Berkeley team, and the name shuffling only raised more hackles at the Califor nia lab. As one LBL spokeswoman puts it: "Where did IUPAC get off arbitrari ly assigning its own name to 106?" While the rejection of "seaborgium" was a major sting for Americans, the Germans had their own reason for be ing upset with IUPAC. They wanted to name element 108 "hassium," after Hassia, the Latin name of the German state of Hesse, which is home for their heavy-element lab, the Gesellschaft fur Schwerionenforschung (GSI). It was at that lab, in Darmstadt, where elements 107 to 109—and just last month, 110— were created. According to sources, CNIC didn't like "hassium" because^its origin isn't as recognizable as that of, say, "californium," "berkelium," or even "dubnium." It's a decision that even scientists outside Germany find hard to under stand. After all, remarks nuclear chem ist Ronald W. Lougheed of Livermore, "How many people know where ytter bium and yttrium came from?" CNIC members may have thought they could lessen the sting of rejecting
"hassium" by moving "hahnium" up to 108. After all, Hahn was a German who, with Austrian physicist Lise Meitner, played a decisive role in the discovery of nuclear fission. CNIC accepted the Ger mans' proposal of "meitnerium" for 109, and some panelists must have thought the names look nice together: Hahn at 108, and Meitner at 109, both for the same discovery. But for some Germans, that pairing of names makes matters even worse. Peter
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Armbruster, who is head of nuclear chemistry at GSI, is disturbed that once again, Meitner—a female—is being placed after Hahn, her longtime male collaborator. Hahn won the 1944 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, and Meitner was passed off as Hahn's "assistant" rather than collaborator, he tells C&EN. "In Germany, Meitner's first name is not Lise; her first name is Halm. And we don't want to have this combination— Hahn-Meitner." It's always the same—
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SCIENCE/TECHNOLOGY Hahn-Meitner Institute, HahnCNIC's recommendations alMeitner Prize—always Hahn ready have been accepted by IUPAC has played 'musical chairs' with in front of her name, he says. IUPAC's Bureau (executive element names "And she doesn't deserve body) and Interdivisional ComAtomic Proposed names [second place]. She was a very mittee on Nomenclature & Symnumber (by discovery group) IUPAC name Symbol good physicist herself." bols. One final step remains: ac102 Nobelium Nobelium (Swedish) No ceptance of the names by the Armbruster, who led the Joliotium (Russian) IUPAC Council when it meets teams that discovered ele103 Lawrencium (American) Lawrencium Lr next August. ments 107 to 110, declares, 104 Rutherfordium (American) Dubnium Db "We are fighting for hassium Even if the council approves Kurchatovium (Russian) and we are willing to let the CNIC names, that doesn't Hahnium (American) Joliotium 105 Jl Hahn fall. We don't want to necessarily mean they will be Nielsbohrium (Russian) see him [put! before Lise accepted by the general scientifSeaborgium (American) Rutherfordium Rf 106 Meitner." The Germans have ic community. IUPAC's nomen107 Nielsbohrium (German) Bohrium Bh no problem, though, with clature recommendations have Hahnium 108 Hassium (German) Hn putting Harm's name a disbeen ignored in the past, and creet distance away—at 105, they could be ignored this time Meitnerium 109 Meitnerium (German) Mt as that element's U.S. discovtoo. Note: IUPAC = International Union of Pure & Applied Chemistry, a These names erers have proposed. and symbols have not yet become lUPACs final, official recommendations. Because the heavy-element CNIC's act of lifting the community is small and conname proposed for 105 and centrated in Dubna, Darmstadt, tacking it onto 108 without even asking Because CNIC's actions have upset so Berkeley, and Livermore, "we can use the German group is just "bad man- many people, what should IUPAC do? whatever names we like," says Liverners," Armbruster says. Although the Some, like commission member Kaesz, more's Hulet. He expects U.S. scienDarmstadt researchers are pleased at the suggest that IUPAC should consult with tists to do just that—ignore IUPAC effort to honor a German, they cannot interested scientific societies. "[It] should Armbruster thinks such behavior is "a accept Hahn's name for 108 because it have done that in the first place"—right little bit childish" and would like to was proposed for a discovery (105) they after the CNIC meeting, he says. avoid it. have nothing to do with. The main uncertainty is which way Some scientists want CNIC to reconName shuffling isn't the only issue. sider the matter. Others, like Kaesz, Dubna will go. If it opts to use CNIC's U.S. scientists also perceive that the com- think IUPAC should direct a different names, that could cause confusion. At mission has taken it upon itself to name body to review the case. "When you go this point, though, no one is sure what the elements, rather than allowing the to court and [get] a bad decision, you go the Russians really think about the recdiscoverers to do so. If the commission to an appeals court, [not] back to the ommended names. Ghiorso, for one, wanted to reject a proposed name, sev- same court," he remarks. "None of us thinks the Russians can't be very haperal scientists point out, it should have [on CNIC] should have anything to say py because they didn't get "kurchatocome back to the discoverers and al- about it [now]. We've said our piece." vium" and "flerovium," another name lowed them to propose an alternative Physicist Douglas R. O. Morrison of that has been bandied about. name. CNIC's action—"pulling names the European particle-physics center Journals and scientific societies likely out of a hat," in Hulet's words—is "real- known as CERN suggests a joint meet- will play a big role in deciding which ly a breaking of all the rules we had un- ing of IUPAC with its physics counter- names are adopted into common usage. til now," says Armbruster. part, the International Union of Pure & "If the American Physical Society, for exOn a somewhat happier note, CNIC Applied Physics. "Physicists also con- ample, decides that it's going to use seadidn't tamper as much with the Ger- tribute to the discovery of unstable ele- borgium and insists that people use it, mans' choice of "nielsbohrium" for 107. ments," he points out, and so they that will have a great influence on the fiThe GSI group had picked up this name should have a say in the matter. nal outcome, despite what IUPAC defrom Dubna's earlier proposal for 105 And Berkeley's Ghiorso, a veteran ele- cides," says Livermore's Lougheed. And (with the Russians' approval). CNIC, ment maker, would like IUPAC to "ta- "the intellectual weight of an [American however, truncated the name to "bohri- ble the whole thing" indefinitely. That Chemical Society] endorsement for the um," apparently because no other ele- would allow the scientists who work name seaborgium [will go] a long way ment carries both a person's first and last with these elements to call them whatev- in the chemical community," predicts names. The Germans prefer "nielsbohri- er they want, without interference. DuPont's Eaton. um" to avoid confusion with boron (bor These and other suggestions have no In fact, the ACS Committee on Noin German). But, says Armbruster, "We doubt reached IUPAC by now, thanks to menclature, which has authority on nocan easily accept this change." a blitz of letter writing by Ghiorso and menclature matters on behalf of ACS, Like many of his American col- many other concerned scientists and cit- last month unanimously affirmed its leagues, Armbruster believes that the izens. But IUPAC, thus far, has given no support for "seaborgium," "hassium," commission's choice of names should indication that it is even considering and the other names that had been proreflect the scientific truth, although he changing its regular approval process. posed for elements 104 to 109 by their concedes that this may not always be When contacted by C&EN, IUPAC offi- U.S. or German discoverers (C&EN, possible, because of the splitting of cials Maurice (Mo) Williams and Alan Nov. 21, page 8). "This is basically igcredit for certain discoveries. D. McNaught would only confirm that noring what IUPAC has done," re8
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DECEMBER 5, 1994 C&EN
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marks nuclear chemist Paul J. Karol, a member of that committee. Although others have confronted IUPAC with fighting words, Karol would like that organization "to find some way to save face and reconsider/' Eaton, too, says he would like to see an amicable resolution. But he worries that "this is the kind of issue where the final resolution is going to please al most no one." •
Niobium incorporated into fullerene networks Chemists at Northwestern University, Evanston, 111., have evidence that a nio bium atom can be incorporated into the network of atoms that make up small er fullerenes. Other researchers have shown that up to several boron atoms can substitute for carbon atoms in the fullerene cage. But boron is the only element chemists have been able to incorporate into fullerenes until now. Martin F. Jarrold, associate professor of chemistry, and coworkers David E. Clemmer, Joanna M. Hunter, and Konstantin B. Shelimov characterize fullerenes by using an "injected-ion drift-tube" appa ratus that provides information on the shapes of molecular ions that pass through it [Nature, 372, 248 (1994)]. In the drift-tube technique, which was developed by Michael T. Bowers, profes sor of chemistry at the University of Cal ifornia, Santa Barbara, mass-selected ions are injected into a drift tube contain ing helium. An electric field applied along the length of the tube moves the ions through the helium. The idea is that ions of the same mass but different shapes will move at differ ent rates down the tube. A combination of modeling and calibration experiments provides detailed information on the shapes of ions based on their arrival time at the end of the drift tube. In their experiments, the Northwestern chemists produce NbC n \ where η = 28 to 50, by vaporizing a mixed NbC-graphite composite rod with a pulsed laser. They find that C40+ and NbC40+ have identical drift-tube mobilities, indicating that they have the same shape. By contrast, NbC3c/ has a significantly lower mobility than C ^ , suggesting that it has a larger cross section than C4()+. The chemists also studied the reac
tivity of the ions by adding N2 or 0 2 to the helium in the drift tube. They find that NbC40+ is inert toward both nitro gen and oxygen but that NbC 3t / readi ly reacts with both. Jarrold interprets these results to indi cate that the NbC4() species is an endohedral metallofuUerene, Nb@C4(), with the niobium atom trapped inside the fullerene cage. The MbC^ species has a niobium atom replacing a carbon atom to form a 40-atom "networked metalB A S F
lofullerene/, Because a niobium atom is much larger than a carbon atom, this spe cies is somewhat misshapen, with a niobi um atom bulging from the fullerene sphere. This feature gives the molecule its larger drift-tube cross section. Jarrold speculates that the networked metallofullerenes may have unique properties. His group currently is work ing to synthesize macroscopic quantities of the materials. Rudy Bainn
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