Isotopes of nitrogen

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Isotopes of nitrogen (7N)
Main isotopes Decay
abun­dance half-life (t1/2) mode pro­duct
13N trace 9.965 min
β+
 		13C
14N 99.6%
stable
15N 0.4% stable
16N synth 7.13 s
β−
 		16O
β−α<0.01% 12C
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    • Natural

    yoctoseconds
    , though the half-life of nitrogen-9 has not been measured exactly.

    List of isotopes

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

    [resonance width]
    Decay
    mode[4]
    [n 4]
    		 Daughter
    isotope
    [n 5]
    Spin and
    parity[4]
    [n 6][n 7]
    		 Natural abundance (mole fraction)
    Excitation energy Normal proportion[4] Range of variation
    9
    N
    [5]     		7 2 <1 as[5] 5p[n 8] 4
    He
    10
    N
         		7 3 10.04165(43) 143(36) ys p ?[n 9] 9
    C
     ?     		1−, 2−
    11
    N
         		7 4 11.026158(5) 585(7) ys
    [780.0(9.3) keV]     		p 10
    C
         		1/2+
    11m
    N
         		740(60) keV 690(80) ys p 1/2−
    12
    N
         		7 5 12.0186132(11) 11.000(16) ms β+ (98.07(4)%) 12
    C
         		1+
    β+α (1.93(4)%) 8
    Be
    [n 10]
    13
    N
    [n 11]     		7 6 13.00573861(29) 9.965(4) min β+ 13
    C
         		1/2−
    14
    N
    [n 12]     		7 7 14.003074004251(241) Stable 1+ [0.99578, 0.99663][6]
    14m
    N
         		2312.590(10) keV
    IT
    		 14
    N
         		0+
    15
    N
         		7 8 15.000108898266(625) Stable 1/2− [0.00337, 0.00422][6]
    16
    N
         		7 9 16.0061019(25) 7.13(2) s β− (99.99846(5)%) 16
    O
         		2−
    β−α (0.00154(5)%) 12
    C
    16m
    N
         		120.42(12) keV 5.25(6) μs IT (99.999611(25)%) 16
    N
         		0−
    β− (0.000389(25)%) 16
    O
    17N 7 10 17.008449(16) 4.173(4) s β−n (95.1(7)%) 16
    O
         		1/2−
    β− (4.9(7)%) 17
    O
    β−α (0.0025(4)%) 13
    C
    18
    N
         		7 11 18.014078(20) 619.2(1.9) ms β− (80.8(1.6)%) 18
    O
         		1−
    β−α (12.2(6)%) 14
    C
    β−n (7.0(1.5)%) 17
    O
    β−2n ?[n 9] 16
    O
     ?
    19
    N
         		7 12 19.017022(18) 336(3) ms β− (58.2(9)%) 19
    O
         		1/2−
    β−n (41.8(9)%) 18
    O
    20
    N
         		7 13 20.023370(80) 136(3) ms β− (57.1(1.4)%) 20
    O
         		(2−)
    β−n (42.9(1.4)%) 19
    O
    β−2n ?[n 9] 18
    O
     ?
    21
    N
         		7 14 21.02709(14) 85(5) ms β−n (87(3)%) 20
    O
         		(1/2−)
    β− (13(3)%) 21
    O
    β−2n ?[n 9] 19
    O
     ?
    22
    N
         		7 15 22.03410(22) 23(3) ms β− (54.0(4.2)%) 22
    O
         		0−#
    β−n (34(3)%) 21
    O
    β−2n (12(3)%) 20
    O
    23
    N
    [n 13]     		7 16 23.03942(45) 13.9(1.4) ms β− (> 46.6(7.2)%) 23
    O
         		1/2−#
    β−n (42(6)%) 22
    O
    β−2n (8(4)%) 21
    O
    β−3n (< 3.4%) 20
    O
    This table header & footer:
    1. ^ mN – 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. ^ Modes of decay:
      IT:
      Isomeric transition
      n: Neutron emission
      p: Proton emission
    5. ^ Bold symbol as daughter – Daughter product is stable.
    6. ^ ( ) spin value – Indicates spin with weak assignment arguments.
    7. ^ # – Values marked # are not purely derived from experimental data, but at least partly from trends of neighboring nuclides (TNN).
    8. ^ Decays by proton emission to 8
      C
      , which immediately emits two protons to form 6
      Be
      , which in turn emits two protons to form stable 4
      He
      [5]
    9. ^ a b c d Decay mode shown is energetically allowed, but has not been experimentally observed to occur in this nuclide.
    10. ^ Immediately decays into two alpha particles for a net reaction of 12N → 3 4He + e+.
    11. ^ Used in positron emission tomography
    12. ^ One of the few stable odd-odd nuclei
    13. ^ Heaviest particle-bound isotope of nitrogen, see Nuclear drip line

    Nitrogen-13

    Main article: Nitrogen-13

    Nitrogen-13 and oxygen-15 are produced in the atmosphere when

    gamma rays (for example from lightning
    ) knock neutrons out of nitrogen-14 and oxygen-16:

    14N + γ → 13N + n
    16O + γ → 15O + n

    The nitrogen-13 produced as a result decays with a half-life of 9.965(4) min to carbon-13, emitting a positron. The positron quickly annihilates with an electron, producing two gamma rays of about 511 keV. After a lightning bolt, this gamma radiation dies down with a half-life of ten minutes, but these low-energy gamma rays go only about 90 metres through the air on average, so they may only be detected for a minute or so as the "cloud" of 13N and 15O floats by, carried by the wind.[7]

    Nitrogen-14

    Nitrogen-14 is one of two

    non-radioactive) isotopes of the chemical element nitrogen
    , which makes about 99.636% of natural nitrogen.

    Nitrogen-14 is one of the very few

    spin 1/2, giving the nucleus a total magnetic spin
    of one.

    The original source of nitrogen-14 and nitrogen-15 in the Universe is believed to be stellar nucleosynthesis, where they are produced as part of the CNO cycle.

    Nitrogen-14 is the source of naturally-occurring, radioactive,

    cosmic radiation cause a nuclear reaction with nitrogen-14 in the upper atmosphere of the Earth, creating carbon-14, which decays back to nitrogen-14 with a half-life
    of 5700(30) years.

    Nitrogen-15

    Nitrogen-15 is a rare stable

    carbon-15. Nitrogen-15 presents one of the lowest thermal neutron capture cross sections of all isotopes.[9]

    Nitrogen-15 is frequently used in NMR (

    nuclear spin
    of one-half, which offers advantages for NMR such as narrower line width.

    Nitrogen-15 tracing is a technique used to study the nitrogen cycle.

    Nitrogen-16

    The radioisotope 16N is the dominant radionuclide in the coolant of

    gamma radiation (5 to 7 MeV).[4][10] Because of this, access to the primary coolant piping in a pressurised water reactor must be restricted during reactor power operation.[10] It is a sensitive and immediate indicator of leaks from the primary coolant system to the secondary steam cycle and is the primary means of detection for such leaks.[10]

    Isotopic signatures

    Main article: Isotopic signature § Nitrogen isotopes

    References

    1. ^ "Standard Atomic Weights: Nitrogen". CIAAW. 2009.
    2. ISSN 1365-3075
      .
    3. doi:10.1088/1674-1137/abddaf
      .
    4. ^
      doi:10.1088/1674-1137/abddae
      .
    5. ^
      science.org
      . Retrieved 27 September 2023.
    6. ^ a b "Atomic Weight of Nitrogen | Commission on Isotopic Abundances and Atomic Weights". ciaaw.org. Retrieved 2022-02-26.
    7. S2CID 4388159
      .
    8. ^ CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics (64th ed.). 1983–1984. p. B-234.
    9. ^ "Evaluated Nuclear Data File (ENDF) Retrieval & Plotting". National Nuclear Data Center.
    10. ^
      ISBN 978-3-11-013242-7. Archived
      from the original on 2016-02-05. Retrieved 2015-12-20.
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