Nickel-62

Properties and data of the isotope ⁶²Ni.

Contents

General Data

Parent Nuclides

Use

Isotones und Isobares

Literature

Nickel-62 is a stable isotope of the chemical element nickel, which, in addition to the element-specific 28 protons, has 34 neutrons in the atomic nucleus, resulting in the mass number 62. Of the natural nickel deposits, ⁶³Ni accounts for 3.6345%.

Nickel-62 is the nuclide of all elements that has the highest binding energy per nucleon; This in turn results in the highest energy release during the formation of this isotope.

General data

Name of the isotope:Nickel-62; Ni-62Symbol:⁶²Ni or 6228NiMass number A:62 (= number of nucleons)Atomic number Z:28 (= number of protons)Neutrons N:34Isotopic mass:61.928345(4) u (atomic weight of Nickel-62)Nuclide mass:61.9129852 u (calculated nuclear mass without electrons)Mass excess:-66.7462 MeVMass defect:0.58536304 u (per nucleus)Nuclear binding energy:545.26215958 MeV (per nucleus)
8.79455096 MeV (average binding energy per nucleon)Separation energy:S_N = 10.5957(3) MeV (first neutron)
S_P = 11.1372(7) MeV (first proton)Half-life:stableSpin and parity:
(nuclear angular momentum)0+Charge radius:3.8399(21) femtometer fmYear of discovery:1934

Parent Nuclides

Direct parent isotopes are: ⁶²Cu, ⁶²Co.

Occurrence

Comparison of the natural Nickel isotopes including isotopic abundance (mole fraction of the isotope mixture in percent):

	Atomic Mass m_a	Quantity	Half-life	Spin
Nickel Isotopic mixture	58.6934 u	100 %
Isotope ⁵⁸Ni	57.935342(3) u	68.0769(190) %	stable	0+
Isotope ⁶⁰Ni	59.930786(3) u	26.2231(150) %	stable	0+
Isotope ⁶¹Ni	60.931056(3) u	1.1399(13) %	stable	3/2-
Isotope ⁶⁴Ni	63.927967(4) u	0.9256(19) %	stable	0+
Isotope ⁶²Ni	61.928345(4) u	3.6345(40) %	stable	0+

Use

For the nuclide nickel-62 - e.g. B. centrifugally enriched [1] - so far there have only been a few research and niche applications; These include, among other things, neutron studies on amorphous metal structures, material studies of high-performance steels, and environmental research. A newer application is primarily the increasing production of the radioisotope Nickel-63 (see there) by irradiating ⁶²Ni targets with neutrons in nuclear reactors :

⁶²Ni(n, γ)⁶³Ni.

Isotones and Isobars

The following table shows the atomic nuclei that are isotonic (same neutron number N = 34) and isobaric (same nucleon number A = 62) with Nickel-62. Naturally occurring isotopes are marked in green; light green = naturally occurring radionuclides.

Z	Isotone N = 34	Isobar A = 62
17	⁵¹Cl
18	⁵²Ar
19	⁵³K
20	⁵⁴Ca
21	⁵⁵Sc
22	⁵⁶Ti	⁶²Ti
23	⁵⁷V	⁶²V
24	⁵⁸Cr	⁶²Cr
25	⁵⁹Mn	⁶²Mn
26	⁶⁰Fe	⁶²Fe
27	⁶¹Co	⁶²Co
28	⁶²Ni	⁶²Ni
29	⁶³Cu	⁶²Cu
30	⁶⁴Zn	⁶²Zn
31	⁶⁵Ga	⁶²Ga
32	⁶⁶Ge	⁶²Ge
33	⁶⁷As	⁶²As
34	⁶⁸Se
35	⁶⁹Br
36	⁷⁰Kr
37	⁷¹Rb

External data and identifiers

Adopted Levels, Gammas:NuDat 62Ni

Literature and References

[1] - A. N. Cheltsov, L. Yu. Sosnin, V. K. Khamylov :
Centrifugal enrichment of nickel isotopes and their application to the development of new technologies.
In: Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry, 299, 981-987, (2013), DOI 10.1007/s10967-013-2755-9.