“Molecular backbones and islands of stability”

Artyom Oganov (Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, Moscow)

It is well known that only special combinations of numbers of protons and neutrons provide stable nuclei. There is a widely known trend towards greater nuclear stability with an even number of protons (and also an even number of neutrons) as compared to odd neighbors - and this is expressed in a much larger prevalence of even elements compared to neighboring odd ones. Shell effects, maximum for "magic" nuclei, are of significance.
There is a deep analogy with molecules. Some molecules, consisting of target elements, are produced much easier, are more inert and accumulate in more significant concentrations than other ones. These molecules possess completed shells - both electronic and structural. For instance, for binary AnBm molecules a stability map can be developed on which "the instability sea”, as well as "ridges" and "islands" of stability are presented. Introduction of the concept of magic molecules provides a powerful apparatus for chemistry.

Link to the event on the JINR website

Stability map of the molecules SinOm. From the research paper: Lepeshkin et al., J. Phys. Chem. Lett., 2019.