Iron-59

Properties and data of the isotope ⁵⁹Fe.

Contents

Iron-59 is a radioisotope of the chemical element iron, which, in addition to the element-specific 26 protons, has 33 neutrons in the atomic nucleus, resulting in the mass number 59.

In medicine or biochemistry, the radioactive nuclide can be administered intravenously, for example in the form of ⁵⁹iron(II) citrate (Ferrutope), in order to determine various parameters of the kinetics of iron metabolism.

General data

Name of the isotope:Iron-59; Fe-59Symbol:⁵⁹Fe or 5926FeMass number A:59 (= number of nucleons)Atomic number Z:26 (= number of protons)Neutrons N:33Isotopic mass:58.9348735(4) u (atomic weight of Iron-59)Nuclide mass:58.9206108 u (calculated nuclear mass without electrons)Mass excess:-60.66494 MeVMass defect:0.55451956 u (per nucleus)Nuclear binding energy:516.53164302 MeV (per nucleus)
8.75477361 MeV (average binding energy per nucleon)Separation energy:S_N = 6.58100(11) MeV (first neutron)
S_P = 12.1264(27) MeV (first proton)Half-life:44.490(9) dDecay constant λ:1.803222479666 × 10^-7 s^-1Specific activity α:1.872286167992 × 10⁺¹⁵ Bq g^-1
50602.328864662 Ci g^-1Spin and parity:
(nuclear angular momentum)3/2-Magnetic dipole moment:μ(μ_N) = -0.3358(4)Nuclear g-factor:g_l = -0.22386666666667Year of discovery:1938

Radioactive Decay

Gamma emissions: 1.292 MeV (43.2%); 0.465 MeV (53.1%) 1.099 MeV (56.5%) 0.192 MeV (3.1%) 0.143 MeV (1.0%).

Half-life T_½ = 44.490(9) d respectively 3.843936 × 10⁶ seconds s.

Decay mode	Daughter	Probability	Decay energy	γ energy (intensity)
β^-	⁵⁹Co	100 %	1.5649(4) MeV

Parent Nuclides

Direct parent isotope is: ⁵⁹Mn.

Isotones and Isobars

The following table shows the atomic nuclei that are isotonic (same neutron number N = 33) and isobaric (same nucleon number A = 59) with Iron-59. Naturally occurring isotopes are marked in green; light green = naturally occurring radionuclides.

Z	Isotone N = 33	Isobar A = 59
16	⁴⁹S
17	⁵⁰Cl
18	⁵¹Ar
19	⁵²K
20	⁵³Ca
21	⁵⁴Sc	⁵⁹Sc
22	⁵⁵Ti	⁵⁹Ti
23	⁵⁶V	⁵⁹V
24	⁵⁷Cr	⁵⁹Cr
25	⁵⁸Mn	⁵⁹Mn
26	⁵⁹Fe	⁵⁹Fe
27	⁶⁰Co	⁵⁹Co
28	⁶¹Ni	⁵⁹Ni
29	⁶²Cu	⁵⁹Cu
30	⁶³Zn	⁵⁹Zn
31	⁶⁴Ga	⁵⁹Ga
32	⁶⁵Ge	⁵⁹Ge
33	⁶⁶As
34	⁶⁷Se
35	⁶⁸Br
36	⁶⁹Kr