Isotopes of chlorine

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Isotopes of chlorine  (17Cl)
Main isotopes [1] Decay
abun­dance half-life (t1/2) mode pro­duct
35Cl76% stable
36Cl trace 3.01×105 y β 36Ar
ε 36S
37Cl 24%stable
Standard atomic weight Ar°(Cl)

Chlorine (17Cl) has 25 isotopes, ranging from 28Cl to 52Cl, and two isomers, 34mCl and 38mCl. There are two stable isotopes, 35Cl (75.8%) and 37Cl (24.2%), giving chlorine a standard atomic weight of 35.45. The longest-lived radioactive isotope is 36Cl, which has a half-life of 301,000 years. All other isotopes have half-lives under 1 hour, many less than one second. The shortest-lived are proton-unbound 29Cl and 30Cl, with half-lives less than 10 picoseconds and 30 nanoseconds, respectively; the half-life of 28Cl is unknown.

Contents

List of isotopes

Nuclide [4]
[n 1]
Z N Isotopic mass (Da) [5]
[n 2] [n 3]
Half-life
[n 4]
Decay
mode

[n 5]
Daughter
isotope

[n 6]
Spin and
parity
[n 7] [n 4]
Natural abundance (mole fraction)
Excitation energyNormal proportionRange of variation
28Cl [6] 171128.02954(64)# p 27S1+#
29Cl [6] 171229.01413(20)<10 psp28S(1/2+)
30Cl [6] 171330.00477(21)#<30 nsp29S3+#
31Cl171430.992448(4)190(1) ms β+ (97.6%)31S3/2+
β+, p (2.4%)30P
32Cl171531.9856846(6)298(1) msβ+ (99.92%)32S1+
β+, α (.054%)28Si
β+, p (.026%)31P
33Cl171632.9774520(4)2.5038(22) sβ+33S3/2+
34Cl171733.97376249(5)1.5266(4) sβ+34S0+
34mCl146.360(27) keV31.99(3) minβ+ (55.4%)34S3+
IT (44.6%)34Cl
35Cl171834.96885269(4)Stable3/2+0.7576(10)0.75644–0.75923
36Cl [n 8] 171935.96830682(4)3.013(15)×105 yβ (98.1%)36Ar2+Trace [n 9] approx. 7×10−13
β+ (1.9%)36S
37Cl 172036.96590258(6)Stable3/2+0.2424(10)0.24077–0.24356
38Cl172137.96801042(11)37.24(5) minβ38Ar2−
38mCl671.365(8) keV715(3) msIT38Cl5−
39Cl172238.9680082(19)56.2(6) minβ39Ar3/2+
40Cl172339.97042(3)1.35(2) minβ40Ar2−
41Cl172440.97068(7)38.4(8) sβ41Ar(1/2+,3/2+)
42Cl172541.97334(6)6.8(3) sβ42Ar
43Cl172642.97406(7)3.13(9) sβ (>99.9%)43Ar(3/2+)
β, n (<.1%)42Ar
44Cl172743.97812(15)0.56(11) sβ (92%)44Ar(2-)
β, n (8%)43Ar
45Cl172844.98039(15)513(36) ms [7] β (76%)45Ar(3/2+)
β, n (24%)44Ar
46Cl172945.98512(22)232(2) msβ, n (60%)45Ar2-#
β (40%)46Ar
47Cl173046.98950(43)#101(6) msβ (97%)47Ar3/2+#
β, n (3%)46Ar
48Cl173147.99541(54)#100# ms [>200 ns]β48Ar
49Cl173249.00101(64)#50# ms [>200 ns]β49Ar3/2+#
50Cl173350.00831(64)#20# msβ50Ar
51Cl173451.01534(75)#2# ms [>200 ns]β51Ar3/2+#
52Cl [8] 1735β52Ar
This table header & footer:
  1. mCl  Excited nuclear isomer.
  2. ()  Uncertainty (1σ) is given in concise form in parentheses after the corresponding last digits.
  3. #  Atomic mass marked #: value and uncertainty derived not from purely experimental data, but at least partly from trends from the Mass Surface (TMS).
  4. 1 2 #  Values marked # are not purely derived from experimental data, but at least partly from trends of neighboring nuclides (TNN).
  5. Modes of decay:
    IT: Isomeric transition
    n: Neutron emission
    p: Proton emission
  6. Bold symbol as daughter  Daughter product is stable.
  7. () spin value  Indicates spin with weak assignment arguments.
  8. Used in radiodating water
  9. Cosmogenic nuclide

Chlorine-36

Trace amounts of radioactive 36Cl exist in the environment, in a ratio of about 7×10−13 to 1 with stable isotopes. 36Cl is produced in the atmosphere by spallation of 36 Ar by interactions with cosmic ray protons. In the subsurface environment, 36Cl is generated primarily as a result of neutron capture by 35Cl or muon capture by 40 Ca. 36Cl decays to either 36 S (1.9%) or to 36 Ar (98.1%), with a combined half-life of 308,000 years. The half-life of this hydrophilic nonreactive isotope makes it suitable for geologic dating in the range of 60,000 to 1 million years. Additionally, large amounts of 36Cl were produced by neutron irradiation of seawater during atmospheric detonations of nuclear weapons between 1952 and 1958. The residence time of 36Cl in the atmosphere is about 1 week. Thus, as an event marker of 1950s water in soil and ground water, 36Cl is also useful for dating waters less than 50 years before the present. 36Cl has seen use in other areas of the geological sciences, forecasts, and elements. In chloride-based molten salt reactors the production of 36
Cl
by neutron capture is an inevitable consequence of using natural isotope mixtures of chlorine (i.e. Those containing 35
Cl
). This produces a long lived radioactive product which has to be stored or disposed off. Isotope separation to produce pure 37
Cl
can vastly reduce 36
Cl
production, but a small amount might still be produced by (n,2n) reactions involving fast neutrons.

Chlorine-37

Stable chlorine-37 makes up about 24.23% of the naturally occurring chlorine on earth. Variation occurs as chloride mineral deposits have a slightly elevated chlorine-37 balance over the average found in sea water and halite deposits.[ citation needed ]

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mass number</span> Number of heavy particles in the atomic nucleus

The mass number (symbol A, from the German word: Atomgewicht, "atomic weight"), also called atomic mass number or nucleon number, is the total number of protons and neutrons (together known as nucleons) in an atomic nucleus. It is approximately equal to the atomic (also known as isotopic) mass of the atom expressed in atomic mass units. Since protons and neutrons are both baryons, the mass number A is identical with the baryon number B of the nucleus (and also of the whole atom or ion). The mass number is different for each isotope of a given chemical element, and the difference between the mass number and the atomic number Z gives the number of neutrons (N) in the nucleus: N = AZ.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isotopes of hydrogen</span> Hydrogen with different numbers of neutrons

Hydrogen (1H) has three naturally occurring isotopes, sometimes denoted 1
H
, 2
H
, and 3
H
. 1
H
and 2
H
are stable, while 3
H
has a half-life of 12.32(2) years. Heavier isotopes also exist, all of which are synthetic and have a half-life of less than one zeptosecond (10−21 s). Of these, 5
H
is the least stable, while 7
H
is the most.

Fluorine (9F) has 18 known isotopes ranging from 13
F
to 31
F
and two isomers. Only fluorine-19 is stable and naturally occurring in more than trace quantities; therefore, fluorine is a monoisotopic and mononuclidic element.

There are 42 isotopes of polonium (84Po). They range in size from 186 to 227 nucleons. They are all radioactive. 210Po with a half-life of 138.376 days has the longest half-life of any naturally-occurring isotope of polonium and is the most common isotope of polonium. It is also the most easily synthesized polonium isotope. 209Po, which does not occur naturally, has the longest half-life of all isotopes of polonium at 124 years. 209Po can be made by using a cyclotron to bombard bismuth with protons, as can 208Po.

Lead (82Pb) has four observationally stable isotopes: 204Pb, 206Pb, 207Pb, 208Pb. Lead-204 is entirely a primordial nuclide and is not a radiogenic nuclide. The three isotopes lead-206, lead-207, and lead-208 represent the ends of three decay chains: the uranium series, the actinium series, and the thorium series, respectively; a fourth decay chain, the neptunium series, terminates with the thallium isotope 205Tl. The three series terminating in lead represent the decay chain products of long-lived primordial 238U, 235U, and 232Th. Each isotope also occurs, to some extent, as primordial isotopes that were made in supernovae, rather than radiogenically as daughter products. The fixed ratio of lead-204 to the primordial amounts of the other lead isotopes may be used as the baseline to estimate the extra amounts of radiogenic lead present in rocks as a result of decay from uranium and thorium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isotopes of thallium</span> Nuclides with atomic number of 81 but with different mass numbers

Thallium (81Tl) has 41 isotopes with atomic masses that range from 176 to 216. 203Tl and 205Tl are the only stable isotopes and 204Tl is the most stable radioisotope with a half-life of 3.78 years. 207Tl, with a half-life of 4.77 minutes, has the longest half-life of naturally occurring Tl radioisotopes. All isotopes of thallium are either radioactive or observationally stable, meaning that they are predicted to be radioactive but no actual decay has been observed.

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Naturally occurring erbium (68Er) is composed of 6 stable isotopes, with 166Er being the most abundant. 39 radioisotopes have been characterized with between 74 and 112 neutrons, or 142 to 180 nucleons, with the most stable being 169Er with a half-life of 9.4 days, 172Er with a half-life of 49.3 hours, 160Er with a half-life of 28.58 hours, 165Er with a half-life of 10.36 hours, and 171Er with a half-life of 7.516 hours. All of the remaining radioactive isotopes have half-lives that are less than 3.5 hours, and the majority of these have half-lives that are less than 4 minutes. This element also has numerous meta states, with the most stable being 167mEr.

Naturally occurring silver (47Ag) is composed of the two stable isotopes 107Ag and 109Ag in almost equal proportions, with 107Ag being slightly more abundant. Notably, silver is the only element with all stable istopes having nuclear spins of 1/2. Thus both 107Ag and 109Ag nuclei produce narrow lines in nuclear magnetic resonance spectra.

Bromine (35Br) has two stable isotopes, 79Br and 81Br, and 32 known radioisotopes, the most stable of which is 77Br, with a half-life of 57.036 hours.

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Potassium has 26 known isotopes from 31
K
to 57
K
, with the exception of still-unknown 32
K
, as well as an unconfirmed report of 59
K
. Three of those isotopes occur naturally: the two stable forms 39
K
(93.3%) and 41
K
(6.7%), and a very long-lived radioisotope 40
K
(0.012%)

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Sulfur (16S) has 23 known isotopes with mass numbers ranging from 27 to 49, four of which are stable: 32S (95.02%), 33S (0.75%), 34S (4.21%), and 36S (0.02%). The preponderance of sulfur-32 is explained by its production from carbon-12 plus successive fusion capture of five helium-4 nuclei, in the so-called alpha process of exploding type II supernovas.

Aluminium or aluminum (13Al) has 22 known isotopes from 22Al to 43Al and 4 known isomers. Only 27Al (stable isotope) and 26Al (radioactive isotope, t1/2 = 7.2×105 y) occur naturally, however 27Al comprises nearly all natural aluminium. Other than 26Al, all radioisotopes have half-lives under 7 minutes, most under a second. The standard atomic weight is 26.9815385(7). 26Al is produced from argon in the atmosphere by spallation caused by cosmic-ray protons. Aluminium isotopes have found practical application in dating marine sediments, manganese nodules, glacial ice, quartz in rock exposures, and meteorites. The ratio of 26Al to 10Be has been used to study the role of sediment transport, deposition, and storage, as well as burial times, and erosion, on 105 to 106 year time scales. 26Al has also played a significant role in the study of meteorites.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chlorine-36</span> Isotope of chlorine

Chlorine-36 (36Cl) is an isotope of chlorine. Chlorine has two stable isotopes and one naturally occurring radioactive isotope, the cosmogenic isotope 36Cl. Its half-life is 301,300 ± 1,500 years. 36Cl decays primarily (98%) by beta-minus decay to 36Ar, and the balance to 36S.

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