Isotopes of beryllium

Beryllium (₄Be) has 11 known isotopes and 3 known isomers, but only one of these isotopes () is stable and a primordial nuclide. As such, beryllium is considered a monoisotopic element. It is also a mononuclidic element, because its other isotopes have such short half-lives that none are primordial and their abundance is very low ( standard atomic weight is ). Beryllium is unique as being the only monoisotopic element with both an even number of protons and an odd number of neutrons. There are 25 other monoisotopic elements but all have odd atomic numbers, and even numbers of neutrons.

Of the 10 radioisotopes of beryllium, the most stable are with a half-life of million years and with a half-life of . All other radioisotopes have half-lives under , most under . The least stable isotope is , with a half-life of .

The 1:1 neutron–proton ratio seen in stable isotopes of many light elements (up to oxygen, and in elements with even atomic number up to calcium) is prevented in beryllium by the extreme instability of toward alpha decay, which is favored due to the extremely tight binding of nuclei. The half-life for the decay of is only .

Beryllium is prevented from having a stable isotope with 4 protons and 6 neutrons by the very large mismatch in neutron–proton ratio for such a light element. Nevertheless, this isotope, , has a half-life of million years, which indicates unusual stability for a light isotope with such a large neutron/proton imbalance. Other possible beryllium isotopes have even more severe mismatches in neutron and proton number, and thus are even less stable.

Most in the universe is thought to be formed by cosmic ray nucleosynthesis from cosmic ray spallation in the period between the Big Bang and the formation of the solar system. The isotopes , with a half-life of , and are both cosmogenic nuclides because they are made on a recent timescale in the solar system by spallation, like . These two radioisotopes of beryllium in the atmosphere track the sunspot cycle and solar activity, since this affects the magnetic field that shields the Earth from cosmic rays. The rate at which the short-lived is transferred from the air to the ground is controlled in part by the weather. decay in the sun is one of the sources of solar neutrinos, and the first type ever detected using the Homestake experiment. Presence of in sediments is often used to establish that they are fresh, i.e. less than about 3–4 months in age, or about two half-lives of .

List of isotopes

, -
, 'This isotope has not yet been observed; given data is inferred or estimated from periodic trends.
, 4
, 1
, #
,
, p ?Decay mode shown is energetically allowed, but has not been experimentally observed to occur in this nuclide.
, ?
, (1/2+)#
,
,
, -
,
, 4
, 2
,
,
[]
, proton emission, 2p
,
, 0+
,
,
, -
, Produced in Big Bang nucleosynthesis, but not primordial, as it all quickly decayed to ⁷Li
, 4
, 3
,
,
, Electron capture, ε
,
, 3/2−
, Tracecosmogenic nuclide
,
, -
, Intermediate product of triple alpha process in stellar nucleosynthesis as part of the path producing ¹²C
, 4
, 4
,
,
[]
, α
,
, 0+
,
,
, -
, style="text-indent:1em" ,
, colspan="3" style="text-indent:2em" ,
,
, α
,
, 2+
,
,
, -
,
, 4
, 5
,
, colspan=3 align=center, Stable
, 3/2−
, 1
,
, -
, style="text-indent:1em" ,
, colspan="3" style="text-indent:2em" ,
,
[]
,
,
, 3/2−
,
,
, -
, Beryllium-10,
, 4
, 6
,
,
, Beta decay, β⁻
,
, 0+
, Trace
,
, -
, rowspan=3, Has 1 halo nucleus, halo neutron
, rowspan=3, 4
, rowspan=3, 7
, rowspan=3,
, rowspan=3,
, β⁻ ()
,
, rowspan=3, 1/2+
, rowspan=3,
, rowspan=3,
, -
, β⁻α ()
,
, -
, β⁻p ()
,
, -
, style="text-indent:1em" ,
, colspan="3" style="text-indent:2em" ,
,
[]
, IT ?
, ?
, 3/2−
,
,
, -
, rowspan=2,
, rowspan=2, 4
, rowspan=2, 8
, rowspan=2,
, rowspan=2,
, β⁻ ()
,
, rowspan=2, 0+
, rowspan=2,
, rowspan=2,
, -
, β⁻n ()
,
, -
, style="text-indent:1em" ,
, colspan="3" style="text-indent:2em" ,
,
, IT
,
, 0+
,
,
, -
,
, 4
, 9
,
,
, n ?
, ?
, (1/2−)
,
,
, -
, style="text-indent:1em" ,
, colspan="3" style="text-indent:2em" ,
,
,
,
, (5/2+)
,
,
, -
, rowspan=5, Has 4 halo neutrons
, rowspan=5, 4
, rowspan=5, 10
, rowspan=5,
, rowspan=5,
, β⁻n ()
,
, rowspan=5, 0+
, rowspan=5,
, rowspan=5,
, -
, β⁻ (> )
,
, -
, β⁻2n ()
,
, -
, β⁻t ()
,
, -
, β⁻α (< )
,
, -
, style="text-indent:1em" ,
, colspan="3" style="text-indent:2em" ,
,
,
,
, (2+)
,
,
, -
,
, 4
, 11
,
,
, n
,
, (5/2+)
,
,
, -
,
, 4
, 12
,
,
[]
, 2n
,
, 0+
,
,

Decay chains

Most isotopes of beryllium within the proton/neutron nuclear drip line, drip lines decay via beta decay and/or a combination of beta decay and alpha decay or neutron emission. However, decays only via electron capture, a phenomenon to which its unusually long half-life may be attributed. Notably, its half-life can be artificially lowered by 0.83% via endohedral enclosure (⁷Be@C₆₀). Also anomalous is , which decays via alpha decay to . This alpha decay is often considered fission, which would be able to account for its extremely short half-life.
:$\begin\\ \ce \\ \ce \\ \ce \\ \ce \\ \ce \\ \ce \\ \ce \\ \ce \\ \ce \\ \ce \\ \ce \\ \ce \\ \ce \\ \ce \\ \ce \\ \end$

Notes

References

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Beryllium
Beryllium