Isotopes of sodium
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There are 21 known isotopes of sodium (11Na), ranging from 17Na to 39Na (except for 36Na and 38Na), and five isomers. 23Na is the only stable (and the only primordial) isotope, making sodium a monoisotopic (and mononuclidic) element. Sodium has two radioactive cosmogenic isotopes (22Na, with a half-life of 2.6019 years and 24Na, with a half-life of 14.956 hours). With the exception of those two isotopes, all other isotopes have half-lives under a minute, most under a second.
Acute neutron radiation exposure (e.g., from a nuclear criticality accident) converts some of the stable 23Na in human blood plasma to 24Na. The neutron radiation dose absorbed by the patient can be assessed by measuring the concentration of the radioisotope.
22Na is a positron-emitting isotope with a relatively long half-life, about 2.6 years. It is used to create test-objects and point-sources for positron emission tomography.
List of isotopes
| Nuclide | Z | N | Isotopic mass (Da) | Discovery year | Half-life | Decay mode | Daughter isotope | Spin and parity | Isotopic abundance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Excitation energy | |||||||||
| 17Na | 11 | 6 | 17.037270(60) | p | 16Ne | (1/2+) | |||
| 18Na | 11 | 7 | 18.02688(10) | 1.3(4) zs | p ? | 17Ne | 1−# | ||
| 19Na | 11 | 8 | 19.013880(11) | > 1 as | p | 18Ne | (5/2+) | ||
| 20Na | 11 | 9 | 20.0073543(12) | 447.9(2.3) ms | β+ (75.0(4)%) | 20Ne | 2+ | ||
| β+α (25.0(4)%) | 16O | ||||||||
| 21Na | 11 | 10 | 20.99765446(5) | 22.4550(54) s | β+ | 21Ne | 3/2+ | ||
| 22Na | 11 | 11 | 21.99443755(14) | 2.6019(6) y | β+ (90.57(8)%) | 22Ne | 3+ | Trace | |
| ε (9.43(6)%) | 22Ne | ||||||||
| 22mNa | 583.05(10) keV | 243(2) ns | IT | 22Na | 1+ | ||||
| 23Na | 11 | 12 | 22.9897692820(19) | Stable | 3/2+ | 1 | |||
| 24Na | 11 | 13 | 23.990963012(18) | 14.9560(15) h | β− | 24Mg | 4+ | Trace | |
| 24mNa | 472.2074(8) keV | 20.18(10) ms | IT (99.95%) | 24Na | 1+ | ||||
| β− (0.05%) | 24Mg | ||||||||
| 25Na | 11 | 14 | 24.9899540(13) | 59.1(6) s | β− | 25Mg | 5/2+ | ||
| 26Na | 11 | 15 | 25.992635(4) | 1.07128(25) s | β− | 26Mg | 3+ | ||
| 26mNa | 82.4(4) keV | (1987) | 4.35(16) μs | IT | 26Na | 1+ | |||
| 27Na | 11 | 16 | 26.994076(4) | 301(6) ms | β− (99.902(24)%) | 27Mg | 5/2+ | ||
| β−n (0.098(24)%) | 26Mg | ||||||||
| 28Na | 11 | 17 | 27.998939(11) | 33.1(1.3) ms | β− (99.42(12)%) | 28Mg | 1+ | ||
| β−n (0.58(12)%) | 27Mg | ||||||||
| 29Na | 11 | 18 | 29.002877(8) | 43.2(4) ms | β− (78%) | 29Mg | 3/2+ | ||
| β−n (22(3)%) | 28Mg | ||||||||
| β−2n ? | 27Mg ? | ||||||||
| 30Na | 11 | 19 | 30.009098(5) | 45.9(7) ms | β− (70.2(2.2)%) | 30Mg | 2+ | ||
| β−n (28.6(2.2)%) | 29Mg | ||||||||
| β−2n (1.24(19)%) | 28Mg | ||||||||
| β−α (5.5(2)%×10−5) | 26Ne | ||||||||
| 31Na | 11 | 20 | 31.013147(15) | 16.8(3) ms | β− (> 63.2(3.5)%) | 31Mg | 3/2+ | ||
| β−n (36.0(3.5)%) | 30Mg | ||||||||
| β−2n (0.73(9)%) | 29Mg | ||||||||
| β−3n (< 0.05%) | 28Mg | ||||||||
| 32Na | 11 | 21 | 32.020010(40) | 12.9(3) ms | β− (66.4(6.2)%) | 32Mg | (3−) | ||
| β−n (26(6)%) | 31Mg | ||||||||
| β−2n (7.6(1.5)%) | 30Mg | ||||||||
| 32mNa | 625 keV | 24(2) μs | IT | 32Na | (0+,6−) | ||||
| 33Na | 11 | 22 | 33.02553(48) | 8.2(4) ms | β−n (47(6)%) | 32Mg | (3/2+) | ||
| β− (40.0(6.7)%) | 33Mg | ||||||||
| β−2n (13(3)%) | 31Mg | ||||||||
| 34Na | 11 | 23 | 34.03401(64) | 5.5(1.0) ms | β−2n (~50%) | 32Mg | 1+ | ||
| β− (~35%) | 34Mg | ||||||||
| β−n (~15%) | 33Mg | ||||||||
| 35Na | 11 | 24 | 35.04061(72)# | 1.5(5) ms | β− | 35Mg | 3/2+# | ||
| β−n ? | 34Mg ? | ||||||||
| β−2n ? | 33Mg ? | ||||||||
| 37Na | 11 | 26 | 37.05704(74)# | 1# ms [> 1.5 μs] | β− ? | 37Mg ? | 3/2+# | ||
| β−n ? | 36Mg ? | ||||||||
| β−2n ? | 35Mg ? | ||||||||
| 39Na | 11 | 28 | 39.07512(80)# | 1# ms [> 400 ns] | β− ? | 39Mg ? | 3/2+# | ||
| β−n ? | 38Mg ? | ||||||||
| β−2n ? | 37Mg ? | ||||||||
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Sodium-22
Sodium-22 is a radioactive isotope of sodium, undergoing positron emission to 22Ne with a half-life of 2.6019 years. 22Na is being investigated as an efficient generator of "cold positrons" (antimatter) to produce muons for catalyzing fusion of deuterium.[citation needed] It is also commonly used as a positron source in positron annihilation spectroscopy.
Sodium-23
Sodium-23 is the sole natural isotope of sodium, with an atomic mass of 22.98976928. Because of this, sodium-23 is used in nuclear magnetic resonance in various research fields, including materials science and battery research. Sodium-23 relaxation has applications in studying cation-biomolecule interactions, intracellular and extracellular sodium, ion transport in batteries, and quantum information processing.
Sodium-24
Sodium-24 is radioactive and is generally created from common sodium-23 by neutron activation. With a half-life of 14.956 hours, 24Na decays to 24Mg by emission of an electron and, almost always, two gamma rays.
Exposure of the human body to intense neutron radiation creates 24Na in the blood plasma. Measurements of its quantity can be done to determine the absorbed radiation dose of a patient. This can be used to determine the medical treatment required.
When sodium is used as coolant in fast breeder reactors, radioactive 24Na is created within the coolant. When the 24Na decays, magnesium forms and builds up in the coolant. Since the half-life is short, the 24Na portion of the coolant ceases to be radioactive within a few days after removal from the reactor. Leakage of the hot sodium from the primary loop may cause radioactive fires, as it can ignite in contact with air (and explodes in contact with water). For this reason, the primary cooling loop is placed within the containment vessel.
Sodium has been proposed as a casing for a salted bomb, as it would convert to 24Na and produce intense gamma-ray emissions for a few days.
See also
Daughter products other than sodium