Chemistry International
Vol. 24, No. 5
September 2002
Highlights
from Pure and Applied Chemistry
Naming
of New Elements (IUPAC Recommendations 2002)
by W.
H. Koppenol
Pure and Applied
Chemistry, Vol. 74, No. 5, pp. 787-791 (2002)
The recent
debate on the naming of the transfermium elements has centered on two
issues: (1) priority of discovery and (2) the right of discoverers to
suggest names. This paper proposes a procedure to name new elements
that clarifies these issues. After the discovery of a new element is
established by a joint IUPACIUPAP Working Group, the discoverers
are invited to propose a name and a symbol to the IUPAC Inorganic Chemistry
Division. Elements can be named after a mythological concept, a mineral,
a place or country, a property, or a scientist. After examination and
acceptance by the Inorganic Chemistry Division, the proposal follows
the accepted IUPAC procedure and is then submitted to the IUPAC Council
for approval.
www.iupac.org/publications/pac/2002/7405/7405x0787.html