 The experimental support for a noble @-@ gas @-@ like flerovium was soon to weaken abruptly . In 2009 and 2010 , the FLNR @-@ PSI collaboration synthesized further atoms of flerovium to follow up their 2007 and 2008 studies . In particular , the first three flerovium atoms synthesized in the 2010 study suggested again a noble @-@ gas @-@ like character , but the complete set taken together resulted in a more ambiguous interpretation , unusual for a metal in the carbon group but not fully like a noble gas in character . In their paper , the scientists refrained from calling flerovium 's chemical properties " close to those of noble gases " , as had previously been done in the 2008 study . Flerovium 's volatility was again measured through interactions with a gold surface , and provided indications that the volatility of flerovium was comparable to that of mercury , astatine , and the simultaneously investigated copernicium , which had been shown in the study to be a very volatile noble metal , conforming to its being the heaviest group 12 element known . Nevertheless , it was pointed out that this volatile behaviour was not expected for a usual group 14 metal . 
