Oxygen-24

Properties and data of the isotope ²⁴O.

Contents

Oxygen-24 is a radioisotope of the chemical element oxygen, which has 16 neutrons in its atomic nucleus in addition to the element-specific 8 protons; the sum of the number of these atomic nucleus building blocks results in a mass number of 24. The very short-lived, only artificially produced, unstable and thus radioactive nuclide has no practical significance; the study of ²⁴O is exclusively for academic purposes.

The radioactive nuclide was discovered by irradiating thorium-232 with neon-22 ions accelerated to 174 MeV [1].

See also: List of individual Oxygen isotopes (and general data sources).

General data

Name of the isotope:Oxygen-24; O-24Symbol:²⁴O or 248OMass number A:24 (= number of nucleons)Atomic number Z:8 (= number of protons)Neutrons N:16Isotopic mass:24.01986(18) u (atomic weight of Oxygen-24)Nuclide mass:24.0154714 u (calculated nuclear mass without electrons)Mass excess:18.49947 MeVMass defect:0.181378912 u (per nucleus)Nuclear binding energy:168.95336825 MeV (per nucleus)
7.03972368 MeV (average binding energy per nucleon)Separation energy:S_N = 4.192(205) MeV (first neutron)
S_P = 25.509(452) MeV (first proton)Half-life:0.0774(45) sDecay constant λ:8.9553899297151 s^-1Specific activity α:2.247109150516 × 10⁺²³ Bq g^-1
6073267974369.7 Ci g^-1Spin and parity:
(nuclear angular momentum)0+Year of discovery:1970

Radioactive Decay

Half-life T_½ = 0.0774(45) s respectively 7.74 × 10^-2 seconds s.

Decay mode	Daughter	Probability	Decay energy	γ energy (intensity)
β^-	²⁴F	57(4) %	10.96(19) MeV
β^-, n	²³F	43(4) %	7.144(168) MeV

Isotones and Isobars

The following table shows the atomic nuclei that are isotonic (same neutron number N = 16) and isobaric (same nucleon number A = 24) with Oxygen-24. Naturally occurring isotopes are marked in green; light green = naturally occurring radionuclides.

Z	Isotone N = 16	Isobar A = 24
5	²¹B
6	²²C
7	²³N	²⁴N
8	²⁴O	²⁴O
9	²⁵F	²⁴F
10	²⁶Ne	²⁴Ne
11	²⁷Na	²⁴Na
12	²⁸Mg	²⁴Mg
13	²⁹Al	²⁴Al
14	³⁰Si	²⁴Si
15	³¹P	²⁴P
16	³²S
17	³³Cl
18	³⁴Ar
19	³⁵K
20	³⁶Ca
21	³⁷Sc
22	³⁸Ti