Isotopes of sulfur

Isotopes of sulfur (16S)
Main isotopesDecay
abun­dancehalf-life (t1/2)modepro­duct
32S94.8%stable
33S0.760%stable
34S4.37%stable
35Strace87.37 dβ35Cl
36S0.02%stable
34S abundances vary greatly (between 3.96 and 4.77 percent) in natural samples.
Standard atomic weight Ar°(S)
  • [32.05932.076][1]
  • 32.06±0.02 (abridged)[2]

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 (see silicon burning).

Other than 35S, the radioactive isotopes of sulfur are all comparatively short-lived. 35S is formed from cosmic ray spallation of 40Ar in the atmosphere. It has a half-life of 87 days. The next longest-lived radioisotope is sulfur-38, with a half-life of 170 minutes.

The beams of several radioactive isotopes (such as those of 44S) have been studied theoretically within the framework of the synthesis of superheavy elements, especially those ones in the vicinity of island of stability.[3][4]

When sulfide minerals are precipitated, isotopic equilibration among solids and liquid may cause small differences in the δ34S values of co-genetic minerals. The differences between minerals can be used to estimate the temperature of equilibration. The δ13C and δ34S of coexisting carbonates and sulfides can be used to determine the pH and oxygen fugacity of the ore-bearing fluid during ore formation.[citation needed]

In most forest ecosystems, sulfate is derived mostly from the atmosphere; weathering of ore minerals and evaporites also contribute some sulfur. Sulfur with a distinctive isotopic composition has been used to identify pollution sources, and enriched sulfur has been added as a tracer in hydrologic studies. Differences in the natural abundances can also be used in systems where there is sufficient variation in the 34S of ecosystem components. Rocky Mountain lakes thought to be dominated by atmospheric sources of sulfate have been found to have different δ34S values from oceans believed to be dominated by watershed sources of sulfate.[citation needed]

List of isotopes

Nuclide
[n 1]
ZNIsotopic mass (Da)[5]
[n 2][n 3]
Half-life[6]
Decay
mode
[6]
[n 4]
Daughter
isotope

[n 5]
Spin and
parity[6]
[n 6][n 7]
Natural abundance (mole fraction)
Excitation energyNormal proportion[6]Range of variation
27S161127.01878(43)#16.3(2) msβ+, p (61%)26Si(5/2+)
β+ (36%)27P
β+, 2p (3.0%)25Al
28S161228.00437(17)125(10) msβ+ (79.3%)28P0+
β+, p (20.7%)27Si
29S161328.996678(14)188(4) msβ+ (53.6%)29P5/2+#
β+, p (46.4%)28Si
30S161429.98490677(22)1.1798(3) sβ+30P0+
31S161530.97955700(25)2.5534(18) sβ+31P1/2+
32S[n 8]161631.9720711735(14)Stable0+0.9485(255)
33S161732.9714589086(14)Stable3/2+0.00763(20)
34S161833.967867011(47)Stable0+0.04365(235)
35S161934.969032321(43)87.37(4) dβ35Cl3/2+Trace[n 9]
36S162035.96708069(20)Stable0+1.58(17)×10−4
37S162136.97112550(21)5.05(2) minβ37Cl7/2−
38S162237.9711633(77)170.3(7) minβ38Cl0+
39S162338.975134(54)11.5(5) sβ39Cl(7/2)−
40S162439.9754826(43)8.8(22) sβ40Cl0+
41S162540.9795935(44)1.99(5) sβ41Cl7/2−#
42S162641.9810651(30)1.016(15) sβ (>96%)42Cl0+
β, n (<1%)41Cl
43S162742.9869076(53)265(13) msβ (60%)43Cl3/2−
β, n (40%)42Cl
43mS320.7(5) keV415.0(26) nsIT43S(7/2−)
44S162843.9901188(56)100(1) msβ (82%)44Cl0+
β, n (18%)43Cl
44mS1365.0(8) keV2.619(26) μsIT44S0+
45S162944.99641(32)#68(2) msβ, n (54%)44Cl3/2−#
β (46%)45Cl
46S163046.00069(43)#50(8) msβ46Cl0+
47S163147.00773(43)#24# ms
[>200 ns]
3/2−#
48S163248.01330(54)#10# ms
[>200 ns]
0+
49S163349.02189(63)#4# ms
[>400 ns]
1/2−#
This table header & footer:
  1. ^ mS – 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. ^ Heaviest theoretically stable nuclide with equal numbers of protons and neutrons
  9. ^ Cosmogenic

See also

References

  1. ^ "Standard Atomic Weights: Sulfur". CIAAW. 2009.
  2. ^ Prohaska, Thomas; Irrgeher, Johanna; Benefield, Jacqueline; Böhlke, John K.; Chesson, Lesley A.; Coplen, Tyler B.; Ding, Tiping; Dunn, Philip J. H.; Gröning, Manfred; Holden, Norman E.; Meijer, Harro A. J. (2022-05-04). "Standard atomic weights of the elements 2021 (IUPAC Technical Report)". Pure and Applied Chemistry. doi:10.1515/pac-2019-0603. ISSN 1365-3075.
  3. ^ Zagrebaev, Valery; Greiner, Walter (2008-09-24). "Synthesis of superheavy nuclei: A search for new production reactions". Physical Review C. 78 (3): 034610. arXiv:0807.2537. Bibcode:2008PhRvC..78c4610Z. doi:10.1103/PhysRevC.78.034610. S2CID 122586703.
  4. ^ Zhu, Long (2019-12-01). "Possibilities of producing superheavy nuclei in multinucleon transfer reactions based on radioactive targets *". Chinese Physics C. 43 (12): 124103. Bibcode:2019ChPhC..43l4103Z. doi:10.1088/1674-1137/43/12/124103. ISSN 1674-1137. S2CID 250673444.
  5. ^ Wang, Meng; Huang, W.J.; Kondev, F.G.; Audi, G.; Naimi, S. (2021). "The AME 2020 atomic mass evaluation (II). Tables, graphs and references*". Chinese Physics C. 45 (3): 030003. doi:10.1088/1674-1137/abddaf.
  6. ^ a b c d Kondev, F. G.; Wang, M.; Huang, W. J.; Naimi, S.; Audi, G. (2021). "The NUBASE2020 evaluation of nuclear properties" (PDF). Chinese Physics C. 45 (3): 030001. doi:10.1088/1674-1137/abddae.
  • Sulfur isotopes data from The Berkeley Laboratory Isotopes Project's
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