Copernicium
Copernicio (Cn, Z=112)
- Date
- 1996 · confidence high
- Place
- GSI, Darmstadt, Germany
- Credited to
- Sigurd Hofmann and the GSI team
- People
- 👤 Sigurd Hofmann1944–2022
- Field
- Matter & energy
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What was discovered
One atom of Cn-277 obtained in February 1996 by fusing zinc-70 with lead-208; named after Copernicus in 2010.
Recognised by the IUPAC in 2009 after confirmation at RIKEN.
What it led to
- Experimental demonstration that it is volatile like mercury
- Last successful cold fusion; exhaustion of the method
- Mercury homologue in group 12
Built on
- SHIP
- Cold fusion
Made possible
- Gold-adsorption chemistry of copernicium