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Naturally occurring niobium (₄₁Nb) is composed of one stable isotope (Nb). The most stable radioisotope is Nb with a half-life of 34.7 million years. The next longest-lived niobium isotopes are Nb (half-life: 20,300 years) and Nb with a half-life of 680 years. There is also a meta state of Nb at 31 keV whose half-life is 16.13 years. Twenty-seven other radioisotopes have been characterized. Most of these have half-lives that are less than two hours, except Nb (35 days), Nb (23.4 hours) and Nb (14.6 hours). The primary decay mode before stable Nb is electron capture and the primary mode after is beta emission with some neutron emission occurring in Nb.

Only Nb (35 days) and Nb (72 minutes) and heavier isotopes (half-lives in seconds) are fission products in significant quantity, as the other isotopes are shadowed by stable or very long-lived (Zr) isotopes of the preceding element zirconium from production via beta decay of neutron-rich fission fragments. Nb is the decay product of Zr (64 days), so disappearance of Nb in used nuclear fuel is slower than would be expected from its own 35-day half-life alone. Small amounts of other isotopes may be produced as direct fission products.

List of isotopes

1. Nb – Excited nuclear isomer.
2. ( ) – Uncertainty (1σ) is given in concise form in parentheses after the corresponding last digits.
3. # – Atomic mass marked #: value and uncertainty derived not from purely experimental data, but at least partly from trends from the Mass Surface (TMS).
4. ^ # – Values marked # are not purely derived from experimental data, but at least partly from trends of neighboring nuclides (TNN).
5. Modes of decay:

   EC:	Electron capture
   IT:	Isomeric transition
   n:	Neutron emission
   p:	Proton emission

6. Bold italics symbol as daughter – Daughter product is nearly stable.
7. Bold symbol as daughter – Daughter product is stable.
8. ( ) spin value – Indicates spin with weak assignment arguments.
9. ^ Order of ground state and isomer is uncertain.

Niobium-92

Niobium-92 is an extinct radionuclide with a half-life of 34.7 million years, decaying predominantly via β decay. Its abundance relative to the stable Nb in the early Solar System, estimated at 1.7×10, has been measured to investigate the origin of p-nuclei. A higher initial abundance of Nb has been estimated for material in the outer protosolar disk (sampled from the meteorite NWA 6704), suggesting that this nuclide was predominantly formed via the gamma process (photodisintegration) in a nearby core-collapse supernova.

Niobium-92, along with niobium-94, has been detected in refined samples of terrestrial niobium and may originate from bombardment by cosmic ray muons in Earth's crust.

References

1. ^ Kondev, F. G.; Wang, M.; Huang, W. J.; Naimi, S.; Audi, G. (2021). "The NUBASE2020 evaluation of nuclear properties" (PDF). Chinese Physics C. 45 (3): 030001. doi:10.1088/1674-1137/abddae.
2. "Standard Atomic Weights: Niobium". CIAAW. 2017.
3. Prohaska, Thomas; Irrgeher, Johanna; Benefield, Jacqueline; Böhlke, John K.; Chesson, Lesley A.; Coplen, Tyler B.; Ding, Tiping; Dunn, Philip J. H.; Gröning, Manfred; Holden, Norman E.; Meijer, Harro A. J. (2022-05-04). "Standard atomic weights of the elements 2021 (IUPAC Technical Report)". Pure and Applied Chemistry. doi:10.1515/pac-2019-0603. ISSN 1365-3075.
4. Wang, Meng; Huang, W.J.; Kondev, F.G.; Audi, G.; Naimi, S. (2021). "The AME 2020 atomic mass evaluation (II). Tables, graphs and references*". Chinese Physics C. 45 (3): 030003. doi:10.1088/1674-1137/abddaf.
5. Sumikama, T.; et al. (2021). "Observation of new neutron-rich isotopes in the vicinity of Zr110". Physical Review C. 103 (1): 014614. Bibcode:2021PhRvC.103a4614S. doi:10.1103/PhysRevC.103.014614. hdl:10261/260248. S2CID 234019083.
6. ^ Iizuka, Tsuyoshi; Lai, Yi-Jen; Akram, Waheed; Amelin, Yuri; Schönbächler, Maria (2016). "The initial abundance and distribution of Nb in the Solar System". Earth and Planetary Science Letters. 439: 172–181. arXiv:1602.00966. Bibcode:2016E&PSL.439..172I. doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2016.02.005. S2CID 119299654.
7. Hibiya, Y; Iizuka, T; Enomoto, H (2019). THE INITIAL ABUNDANCE OF NIOBIUM-92 IN THE OUTER SOLAR SYSTEM (PDF). Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (50th ed.). Retrieved 7 September 2019.
8. Hibiya, Y.; Iizuka, T.; Enomoto, H.; Hayakawa, T. (2023). "Evidence for enrichment of niobium-92 in the outer protosolar disk". Astrophysical Journal Letters. 942 (L15): L15. Bibcode:2023ApJ...942L..15H. doi:10.3847/2041-8213/acab5d. S2CID 255414098.
9. Clayton, Donald D.; Morgan, John A. (1977). "Muon production of Nb in the Earth's crust". Nature. 266 (5604): 712–713. doi:10.1038/266712a0. S2CID 4292459.

• Isotope masses from:
  • Audi, Georges; Bersillon, Olivier; Blachot, Jean; Wapstra, Aaldert Hendrik (2003), "The NUBASE evaluation of nuclear and decay properties", Nuclear Physics A, 729: 3–128, Bibcode:2003NuPhA.729....3A, doi:10.1016/j.nuclphysa.2003.11.001
• Isotopic compositions and standard atomic masses from:
  • de Laeter, John Robert; Böhlke, John Karl; De Bièvre, Paul; Hidaka, Hiroshi; Peiser, H. Steffen; Rosman, Kevin J. R.; Taylor, Philip D. P. (2003). "Atomic weights of the elements. Review 2000 (IUPAC Technical Report)". Pure and Applied Chemistry. 75 (6): 683–800. doi:10.1351/pac200375060683.
  • Wieser, Michael E. (2006). "Atomic weights of the elements 2005 (IUPAC Technical Report)". Pure and Applied Chemistry. 78 (11): 2051–2066. doi:10.1351/pac200678112051.
• "News & Notices: Standard Atomic Weights Revised". International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry. 19 October 2005.
• Half-life, spin, and isomer data selected from the following sources.
  • Audi, Georges; Bersillon, Olivier; Blachot, Jean; Wapstra, Aaldert Hendrik (2003), "The NUBASE evaluation of nuclear and decay properties", Nuclear Physics A, 729: 3–128, Bibcode:2003NuPhA.729....3A, doi:10.1016/j.nuclphysa.2003.11.001
  • National Nuclear Data Center. "NuDat 2.x database". Brookhaven National Laboratory.
  • Holden, Norman E. (2004). "11. Table of the Isotopes". In Lide, David R. (ed.). CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics (85th ed.). Boca Raton, Florida: CRC Press. ISBN 978-0-8493-0485-9.

v t e Isotopes of the chemical elements
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Table of nuclides Categories: Isotopes Tables of nuclides Metastable isotopes Isotopes by element

• Isotopes of niobium
• Niobium
• Lists of isotopes by element