Chemistry at the Edge of the Periodic Table: The Importance of Periodic Trends on the Discovery of the Noble Gases and the Development of Noble-Gas Chemistry

Initial attempts to form noble-gas compounds were prompted, guided, and illuminated by trends within the Periodic Table. The history of noble-gas reactivity commenced with Henri Moissan, who discovered elemental fluorine in 1886, and positioned F2 as the most reactive element in the Periodic Table by showing that it reacted with numerous metals and nonmetals, except the noble metals. Following on Sir William Ramsay and Lord Rayleigh’s discovery …