Chemistry of the transactinide elements

The experimentally known chemical properties of the transactinide elements 104 and 105, and the experimental techniques used to study these properties on an atom-at-a-time base, are reviewed. The production of transactinides in heavy ion reactions and the specific aspects of chemical separations with single atoms is briefly discussed. The chemical properties of the first two transactinide elements are compared with the lighter element homologs in group 4 and 5 of the Periodic Table and with the expected behaviour obtained from most recent atomic and molecular calculations which take the increasingly strong relativistic effect into account. Elements 104 and 105 behave as transactinide elements and, in general, exhibit properties characteristic of their position in group 4 and 5 of the Periodic Table. However, surprising deviations of the chemical properties from expectations based on simple extrapolations have been observed. It is shown that the chemical properties of the heaviest elements cannot reliably be predicted by simple extrapolations. Prospects to extend our chemical knowledge at the top end of the Periodic Table are discussed.