Tennessine

Tennessine (symbol Ts, atomic number 117) is a synthetic superheavy element belonging to group 17 of the periodic table. It was first synthesised in 2010 through an international collaboration between Russian and American scientists and officially named in 2016 in honour of the U.S. state of Tennessee, which is home to several leading nuclear research institutions. As one of the heaviest elements ever produced, tennessine occupies a unique position at the boundary of known chemistry, where relativistic effects and nuclear instability dominate its behaviour.

Background and Synthesis

Tennessine does not occur naturally and can only be produced in laboratory conditions. It is synthesised by bombarding berkelium-249 targets with calcium-48 ions in a particle accelerator. The reaction occasionally forms tennessine atoms, which exist for only fractions of a second before decaying into lighter elements. The production of tennessine is exceptionally difficult: only a handful of atoms have ever been created globally, and each experimental campaign may yield just a few successful detection events.
The element’s most stable isotope, tennessine-294, has a half-life of around twenty milliseconds. This extreme instability means that the element cannot be accumulated in measurable quantities or isolated for traditional study. All present knowledge about its chemical and physical properties is therefore based on theoretical calculations and extrapolation from periodic trends.

Predicted Properties

Although tennessine is placed in the halogen group, it is expected to deviate significantly from lighter halogens such as chlorine, bromine, and iodine. The intense relativistic effects experienced by its electrons at such high atomic numbers cause the outer electron orbitals to contract and behave differently from classical predictions. As a result, tennessine may display partial metallic or metalloid characteristics rather than the typical non-metallic nature of the halogens.
Predicted properties include:

• A high atomic mass and extremely large atomic radius.
• Possible weak reactivity, making it less prone to form volatile compounds compared with lighter halogens.
• Low electron affinity, implying a limited tendency to gain electrons.
• Theoretical ability to form compounds such as tennessine chloride (TsCl) or tennessine fluoride (TsF), though none have been observed experimentally.

These predictions remain speculative, as no direct chemical experiments have been achieved due to the atom’s fleeting existence.

Absence of Everyday and Industrial Applications

Tennessine has no known practical applications in everyday life or industry. Several factors make its use impossible under present conditions:

1. Extreme Rarity – Only a few atoms have ever been produced, and each atom decays within milliseconds. It is therefore impossible to obtain bulk material.
2. Short Half-life – Its isotopes exist for an extraordinarily brief period before decaying, preventing any potential for handling or large-scale synthesis.
3. High Cost and Technical Difficulty – The equipment and materials required to produce even a single atom are prohibitively expensive and highly specialised.
4. Radioactive Instability – The element’s radioactivity and rapid decay make it hazardous and impractical for any use outside controlled nuclear laboratories.

For these reasons, tennessine remains confined to the realm of fundamental scientific investigation. No commercial, economic, or technological benefit can be derived from such transient material.

Scientific and Economic Significance

Despite its lack of direct applications, tennessine plays an important role in expanding the boundaries of nuclear science. Its synthesis helps researchers understand how atomic nuclei behave at the extreme edge of stability. By studying tennessine and its neighbours on the periodic table, scientists can refine models predicting the existence of the so-called “island of stability”—a theoretical region where superheavy elements may have relatively long-lived isotopes.
The study of tennessine also supports progress in several scientific and technological areas:

• Advancement of Nuclear Physics: Creating tennessine requires highly precise accelerators and detectors, pushing the limits of modern nuclear instrumentation.
• Validation of Theoretical Chemistry: Observations from its synthesis help verify and adjust quantum mechanical models that describe electron behaviour in ultra-heavy atoms.
• Innovation in Isotope Production: The development of targets and beams used to make tennessine contributes to broader expertise in isotope generation, which can indirectly benefit nuclear medicine and energy research.
• Collaboration and International Research: Its discovery exemplifies the cooperative nature of modern scientific research, linking institutions and expertise across nations.

From an economic perspective, tennessine itself has no measurable market value, as it cannot be manufactured or utilised on a commercial scale. However, the technologies developed for its synthesis—such as advanced accelerator systems and detection methods—hold indirect economic value through their applications in scientific instrumentation and nuclear industries.

Theoretical Applications and Future Prospects

Although no immediate use exists, scientists continue to study tennessine to better understand chemical trends at the extreme end of the periodic table. Its theoretical compounds could reveal how traditional concepts of bonding and reactivity change under relativistic conditions. Should more stable superheavy isotopes be synthesised in the future, these could open new possibilities in materials science, nuclear energy, or radiopharmaceutical research.
In the long term, the research surrounding tennessine contributes to humankind’s broader pursuit of knowledge about matter’s fundamental limits. It offers a glimpse into the structure and stability of atoms at the frontier of chemistry, serving as a bridge between known elements and those yet to be discovered.