LAUSR

Abstract Online gas-solid adsorption studies with single-atom quantities of Hg, Tl, and Pb, the lighter homologs of the superheavy elements (SHE) copernicium (Cn, Z=112), nihonium (Nh, Z=113), and flerovium (Fl, Z=114), were carried out using short-lived radioisotopes. The interaction with Au and SiO2 surfaces was studied and the overall chemical yield was determined. Suitable radioisotopes were produced in fusion-evaporation reactions, isolated in the gas-filled recoil separator TASCA, and flushed rapidly to an adjacent setup of two gas chromatography detector arrays covered with SiO2 (first array) and Au (second array). While Tl and Pb adsorbed on the SiO2 surface, Hg interacts only weakly and reached the Au-covered array. Our results contribute to elucidating the influence of relativistic effects on chemical properties of the heaviest elements by providing experimental data on these lighter homologs.