Niobium-93 is a radioisotope of the chemical element niobium, which has 52 neutrons in its atomic nucleus in addition to the element-specific 41 protons; the sum of the number of these atomic nucleus building blocks results in a mass number of 93. Natural terrestrial Nb deposits consist of 100% Nb-93.
Niobium-93 was discovered by vaporizing Niobium pentafluoride in a discharge tube and subsequent mass spectrometric analysis [1].
See also: List of individual Niobium isotopes (and general data sources).
General data
Name of the isotope:Niobium-93; Nb-93Symbol:93Nb or 9341NbMass number A:93 (= number of nucleons)Atomic number Z:41 (= number of protons)Neutrons N:52Nucleon pairing (Z - N):odd - evenNuclear ratio (N/Z ratio):1.2682926829268 (= neutron-proton ratio)Neutron excess (N-Z):11Isotopic mass:92.9063732(16) u (atomic weight of Niobium-93)Nuclide mass:92.8838824 u (calculated nuclear mass without electrons)Mass excess:-87.2128 MeVMass defect:0.865028744 u (per nucleus)Nuclear binding energy:805.76908486 MeV (per nucleus) 8.66418371 MeV (average binding energy per nucleon)Separation energy:SN = 8.8309(20) MeV (first neutron) SP = 6.0428(15) MeV (first proton)Half-life:stableSpin and parity: (nuclear angular momentum)9/2+Magnetic dipole moment:μ(μN) = +6.163(2)Charge radius:4.3240(17) femtometer fmYear of discovery:1932
Comparison of the natural Niobium isotopes including isotopic abundance (mole fraction of the isotope mixture in percent):
Atomic Mass ma
Quantity
Half-life
Spin
Niobium Isotopic mixture
92.90637 u
100 %
Isotope 93Nb
92.9063732(16) u
100 %
stable
9/2+
NMR data
Nuclear magnetic properties and parameters of the NMR active Nuclide93Nb
Isotope:93Nb-NMRQuantity:100 %Spin:9/2+Nuclearmagnetic moment μ/μN:+6.163(2)Gyromagnetic ratio γ:6.5674 · 107 rad T-1 s-1 10.45234 MHz T-1Nuclear g-factor:gl = 1.3695555555556Quadrupole moment Q:-0.32(2) barn (100 fm2)Line width parameter (factor):l = 75.85 fm4Resonance frequency:v0 = 10.4523 MHz at 1 TRelative Sensitivity:[related to 1H = 1.000]: 0.48821 (H0 = const.) 8.1013 (v0 = const.) 0.488 (at natural abundance) relative receptivity as compared to 13C: 2870 (at natural abundance)Reference compound: (conditions)The IUPAC recommends a saturated solution of the difficult-to-access Potassium hexachloroniobate K[NbCl6] in a mixture of the isotopological compounds Acetonitrile and Acetonitrile-d3 (CH3CN/CD3CN).Frequency ratio:Ξ(93Nb) = 24.476170 % [based on the reference substance]
Nuclear Isomers
Nuclear isomers or excited states with the activation energy in keV related to the ground state.
The following table shows the atomic nuclei that are isotonic (same neutron number N = 52) and isobaric (same nucleon number A = 93) with Niobium-93. Naturally occurring isotopes are marked in green; light green = naturally occurring radionuclides.
