On the volatility of nihonium (Nh, Z = 113

Gas-phase chromatography studies of nihonium (Nh, $Z=113$ were carried out at the one-atom-at-a-time level. For the production of nihonium, the heavy-ion-induced nuclear fusion reaction of$^{48}$ Ca with$^{243}$ Am was used. This leads to isotopes$^{284, 285}$ Nh, as the direct descendants of the $\alpha$ -decaying precursors$^{288, 289}$ Mc. Combining the Dubna Gas-Filled Recoil Separator with gas-phase chromatographic separation, the experiment was sensitive to elemental nihonium and its adsorption behavior on Teflon, theoretically predicted by modern relativistic density functional theory. The non-observation of any decays of Nh after the chemical separation indicates a larger than expected retention of elemental Nh on a Teflon surface