Isotopes of chlorine

Jump to navigation Jump to search


Chlorine (Cl) has isotopes with mass numbers ranging from 32 g mol−1 to 40 g mol−1. There are two principal stable isotopes, 35Cl (75.77%) and 37Cl (24.23%), found in the relative proportions of 3:1 respectively, giving chlorine atoms in bulk an apparent atomic weight of 35.5.
Standard atomic mass: 35.453(2) u

Chlorine-36 (36Cl)

Trace amounts of radioactive 36Cl exist in the environment, in a ratio of about 7x10−13 to 1 with stable isotopes. 36Cl is produced in the atmosphere by spallation of 36Ar 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 40Ca. 36Cl decays to 36S and to 36Ar, 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 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, including dating ice and sediments.


Table

nuclide
symbol
Z(p) N(n)  
isotopic mass (u)
 
half-life nuclear
spin
representative
isotopic
composition
(mole fraction)
range of natural
variation
(mole fraction)
excitation energy
28Cl 17 11 28.02851(54)# (1+)#
29Cl 17 12 29.01411(21)# <20 ns (3/2+)#
30Cl 17 13 30.00477(21)# <30 ns (3+)#
31Cl 17 14 30.99241(5) 150(25) ms 3/2+
32Cl 17 15 31.985690(7) 298(1) ms 1+
33Cl 17 16 32.9774519(5) 2.511(3) s 3/2+
34Cl 17 17 33.97376282(19) 1.5264(14) s 0+
34mCl 146.36(3) keV 32.00(4) min 3+
35Cl 17 18 34.96885268(4) STABLE 3/2+ 0.7576(10) 0.75644-0.75923
36Cl 17 19 35.96830698(8) 3.01(2)E+5 a 2+
37Cl 17 20 36.96590259(5) STABLE 3/2+ 0.2424(10) 0.24077-0.24356
38Cl 17 21 37.96801043(10) 37.24(5) min 2-
38mCl 671.361(8) keV 715(3) ms 5-
39Cl 17 22 38.9680082(19) 55.6(2) min 3/2+
40Cl 17 23 39.97042(3) 1.35(2) min 2-
41Cl 17 24 40.97068(7) 38.4(8) s (1/2+,3/2+)
42Cl 17 25 41.97325(15) 6.8(3) s
43Cl 17 26 42.97405(17) 3.07(7) s 3/2+#
44Cl 17 27 43.97828(12) 0.56(11) s
45Cl 17 28 44.98029(13) 400(40) ms 3/2+#
46Cl 17 29 45.98421(77) 232(2) ms
47Cl 17 30 46.98871(64)# 101(6) ms 3/2+#
48Cl 17 31 47.99495(75)# 100# ms [>200 ns]
49Cl 17 32 49.00032(86)# 50# ms [>200 ns] 3/2+#
50Cl 17 33 50.00784(97)# 20# ms
51Cl 17 34 51.01449(107)# 2# ms [>200 ns] 3/2+#

Notes

  • Geologically exceptional samples are known in which the isotopic composition lies outside the reported range. The uncertainty in the atomic mass may exceed the stated value for such specimens.
  • Commercially available materials may have been subjected to an undisclosed or inadvertent isotopic fractionation. Substantial deviations from the given mass and composition can occur.
  • Values marked # are not purely derived from experimental data, but at least partly from systematic trends. Spins with weak assignment arguments are enclosed in parentheses.
  • Uncertainties are given in concise form in parentheses after the corresponding last digits. Uncertainty values denote one standard deviation, except isotopic composition and standard atomic mass from IUPAC which use expanded uncertainties.

References

External links

Template:Isotope nav

Template:WH Template:WS