Fluorine-30

Properties and data of the isotope ³⁰F.

Contents

Fluorine-30 is a radioisotope of the chemical element fluorine, which has 21 neutrons in its atomic nucleus in addition to the element-specific 9 protons, resulting in a mass number of 30. The very short-lived, only artificially produced, unstable and thus radioactive nuclide has no practical significance; the study of ³⁰F is exclusively for academic purposes.

The neutron-rich nuclide decays to Fluorine-29, releasing a neutron.

The first observation of the neutron-rich unstable isotope was reported in 2024 [1].

General data

Name of the isotope:Fluorine-30; F-30Symbol:³⁰F or 309FMass number A:30 (= number of nucleons)Atomic number Z:9 (= number of protons)Neutrons N:21Isotopic mass:30.05256(54) u (atomic weight of Fluorine-30)Nuclide mass:30.0476228 u (calculated nuclear mass without electrons)Mass excess:48.95932 MeVMass defect:0.199828524 u (per nucleus)Nuclear binding energy:186.13907113 MeV (per nucleus)
6.2046357 MeV (average binding energy per nucleon)Separation energy:S_N = 0.11(79) MeV (first neutron)Half-life:0.96 zsDecay constant λ:7.220283130832 × 10⁺²⁰ s^-1Specific activity α:1.449385402083 × 10⁺⁴³ Bq g^-1
3.917257843468 × 10⁺³² Ci g^-1Spin and parity:
(nuclear angular momentum)Year of discovery:2023

Radioactive Decay

Half-life T_½ = 0.96 zs respectively 9.6 × 10^-22 seconds s.

Decay mode	Daughter	Probability	Decay energy	γ energy (intensity)
n	²⁹F	100 %

Isotones and Isobars

The following table shows the atomic nuclei that are isotonic (same neutron number N = 21) and isobaric (same nucleon number A = 30) with Fluorine-30. Naturally occurring isotopes are marked in green; light green = naturally occurring radionuclides.

Z	Isotone N = 21	Isobar A = 30
9	³⁰F	³⁰F
10	³¹Ne	³⁰Ne
11	³²Na	³⁰Na
12	³³Mg	³⁰Mg
13	³⁴Al	³⁰Al
14	³⁵Si	³⁰Si
15	³⁶P	³⁰P
16	³⁷S	³⁰S
17	³⁸Cl	³⁰Cl
18	³⁹Ar	³⁰Ar
19	⁴⁰K
20	⁴¹Ca
21	⁴²Sc
22	⁴³Ti
23	⁴⁴V
24	⁴⁵Cr
25	⁴⁶Mn
26	⁴⁷Fe
27	⁴⁸Co
28	⁴⁹Ni