Late in a massive star's life,

16
O
concentrates in the O-shell,
17
O in the
H-shell and
18
O in the He-shell
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
There are three stable isotopes of oxygen (
16
O,
17
O, and
18
O). Radioactive isotopes with mass
numbers from
12
O to
24
O have also been characterized, all short-lived, with the longest-lived being
15
O
with a half-life of 122.24 seconds. The shortest-lived is
12
O with a half-life of 580(30)10
24
second.
Contents
1 Stable isotopes
2 Radioisotopes
2.1 Oxygen-13
2.2 Oxygen-15
3 Table
3.1 Notes
4 See also
5 Notes
6 References
Stable isotopes
Naturally occurring oxygen is composed of three stable isotopes,
16
O,
17
O, and
18
O, with
16
O being the most abundant (99.762% natural
abundance); thus oxygen (O) has a standard atomic weight of 15.9994(3). Known oxygen isotopes range in mass number from 12 to 24.
The relative and absolute abundance of
16
O is high because it is a principal product of stellar evolution and because it is a primary isotope, meaning
it can be made by stars that were initially made exclusively of hydrogen.
[1]
Most
16
O is synthesized at the end of the helium fusion process in stars;
the triple-alpha reaction creates
12
C, which captures an additional
4
He to make
16
O. The neon burning process creates additional
16
O.
[1]
Both
17
O and
18
O are secondary isotopes, meaning that their nucleosynthesis requires seed nuclei.
17
O is primarily made by the burning of
hydrogen into helium during the CNO cycle, making it a common isotope in the hydrogen burning zones of stars.
[1]
Most
18
O is produced when
14
N (made abundant from CNO burning) captures a
4
He nucleus, making
18
O common in the helium-rich zones of stars.
[1]
Approximately a billion
degrees Celsius is required for two oxygen nuclei to undergo nuclear fusion to form the heavier nucleus of sulfur.
[2]
Measurements of the ratio of Oxygen-18 to Oxygen-16 are often used to interpret changes in paleoclimate.
Radioisotopes
Fourteen radioisotopes have been characterized, with the most stable being
17
O and
18
O exhibting stable conformations while
15
O has a half-life of
122.24 s and
14
O has a half-life of 70.606 s.
[3]
All of the remaining radioactive isotopes have half-lives that are less than 27 s and the majority of
these have half-lives that are less than 83 milliseconds (ms).
[3]
For example,
24
O has a half-life of 61 ms.
[4]
The most common decay mode for
isotopes lighter than the stable isotopes is
+
decay (to nitrogen)
[5][6][7]
and the most common mode after is
-
decay (to fluorine).
An atomic mass of 16 was assigned to oxygen prior to the definition of the unified atomic mass unit based upon
12
C.
[8]
Since physicists referred to
16
O only, while chemists meant the naturally-abundant mixture of isotopes, this led to slightly different mass scales between the two disciplines.
The isotopic composition of oxygen atoms in the Earth's atmosphere is 99.759%
16
O, 0.037%
17
O and 0.204%
18
O.
[9]
Because water molecules
containing the lighter isotope are slightly more likely to evaporate and fall as precipitation,
[10]
fresh water and polar ice on earth contains slightly
less (0.1981%) of the heavy isotope
18
O than air (0.204%) or seawater (0.1995%). This disparity allows analysis of temperature patterns via
historic ice cores.
Oxygen-13
Oxygen-13 is an unstable isotope of oxygen. It consists of 8 protons and electrons, and 5 neutrons. It has a spin of 3/2-, and a half-life of 8.58 ms.
Its atomic mass is 13.0248 Da. It decays to Nitrogen-13 by electron capture, and has a decay energy of 17.765 MeV.
[11]
Its parent nuclide is
Fluorine-14.
[12]
Oxygen-15
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Oxygen-15 is an isotope of oxygen, frequently used in positron emission tomography, or PET experiments. It has 8 protons, 7 neutrons, and 8
electrons. The total atomic mass is 15.0030654 amu. It has a half-life of 122 seconds.
[13]
Oxygen-15 is synthesized through deuteron bombardment
of nitrogen-14 using a cyclotron.
[14]
Table
nuclide
symbol
Z(p) N(n)

isotopic mass (u)

half-life decay mode(s)
[15]
daughter
isotope(s)
[n 1]
nuclear
spin
representative
isotopic
composition
(mole fraction)
range of natural
variation
(mole fraction)
12
O 8 4 12.034405(20)
580(30)10
24
s
[0.40(25) MeV]
2p (60.0%)
10
C
0+
p (40.0%)
11
N
13
O 8 5 13.024812(10) 8.58(5) ms

+
(89.1%)
13
N
(3/2-)

+
, p (10.9%)
12
C
14
O 8 6 14.00859625(12) 70.598(18) s
+ 14
N 0+
15
O 8 7 15.0030656(5) 122.24(16) s
+ 15
N 1/2-
16
O
[n 2]
8 8 15.99491461956(16) Stable 0+ 0.99757(16) 0.99738-0.99776
17
O
[n 3]
8 9 16.99913170(12) Stable 5/2+ 3.8(1)10
4
3.710
4
-4.010
4
18
O
[n 2][n 4]
8 10 17.9991610(7) Stable 0+ 2.05(14)10
3
1.8810
3
-2.2210
3
19
O 8 11 19.003580(3) 26.464(9) s
19
F 5/2+
20
O 8 12 20.0040767(12) 13.51(5) s
20
F 0+
21
O 8 13 21.008656(13) 3.42(10) s
21
F (1/2,3/2,5/2)+
22
O 8 14 22.00997(6) 2.25(15) s

(78.0%)
22
F
0+

, n (22.0%)
21
F
23
O 8 15 23.01569(13) 82(37) ms

, n (57.99%)
22
F
1/2+#

(42.0%)
23
F
24
O 8 16 24.02047(25) 65(5) ms

, n (57.99%)
23
F
0+

(42.01%)
24
F
26
O 8 18 (40) ns
[16][17]

26
F
n
25
O
^ Bold for stable isotopes 1.
^
a

b
The ratio between
16
O and
18
O is used to deduce ancient temperatures 2.
^ Can be used in NMR studies of metabolic pathways 3.
^ Can be used in studying certain metabolic pathways 4.
Oxygen isotopes with 25-28 nucleons exist for less than 1 microsecond, since they are beyond the neutron drip line.
[18]
Notes
The precision of the isotope abundances and atomic mass is limited through variations. The given ranges should be applicable to any normal
terrestrial material.
Values marked # are not purely derived from experimental data, but at least partly from systematic trends. Spins with weak assignment
arguments are enclosed in parentheses.
Uncertainties are given in concise form in parentheses after the corresponding last digits. Uncertainty values denote one standard deviation,
except isotopic composition and standard atomic mass from IUPAC which use expanded uncertainties.
Nuclide masses are given by IUPAP Commission on Symbols, Units, Nomenclature, Atomic Masses and Fundamental Constants
(SUNAMCO).
Isotope abundances are given by IUPAC Commission on Isotopic Abundances and Atomic Weights.
See also
Dole effect
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Notes
^
a

b

c

d
B. S. Meyer (September 1921, 2005). "Nucleosynthesis and galactic chemical evolution of the isotopes of oxygen" (http://www.lpi.usra.edu
/meetings/ess2005/pdf/9022.pdf). Proceedings of the NASA Cosmochemistry Program and the Lunar and Planetary Institute. Workgroup on Oxygen in
the Earliest Solar System (http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/ess2005/). Gatlinburg, Tennessee. 9022.
1.
^ Emsley 2001, p. 297. 2.
^
a

b
K. L. Barbalace. "Periodic Table of Elements: O - Oxygen" (http://environmentalchemistry.com/yogi/periodic/O-pg2.html).
EnvironmentalChemistry.com. Retrieved 2007-12-17.
3.
^ "Oxygen-24" (http://ie.lbl.gov/toi/nuclide.asp?iZA=80024). WWW Table of Radioactive Isotopes. LUNDS Universitet, LBNL Isotopes Project. 28
February 99. Retrieved 2009-06-08. | coaut hor s=requires | aut hor =(help)
4.
^ "NUDAT" (http://www.nndc.bnl.gov/nudat2/decaysearchdirect.jsp?nuc=13O&unc=nds). Retrieved 2009-07-06. 5.
^ "NUDAT" (http://www.nndc.bnl.gov/nudat2/decaysearchdirect.jsp?nuc=14O&unc=nds). Retrieved 2009-07-06. 6.
^ "NUDAT" (http://www.nndc.bnl.gov/nudat2/decaysearchdirect.jsp?nuc=15O&unc=nds). Retrieved 2009-07-06. 7.
^ Parks & Mellor 1939, Chapter VI, Section 7. 8.
^ Cook 1968, p. 500. 9.
^ Dansgaard, W (1964) Stable isotopes in precipitation. Tellus 16, 436-468 10.
^ http://environmentalchemistry.com/yogi/periodic/O-pg2.html 11.
^ http://environmentalchemistry.com/yogi/periodic/F-pg2.html#14 12.
^ http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/oxygen+15 13.
^ "Production of PET Radionuclides" (http://www.petnm.unimelb.edu.au/pet/detail/radionuc.html). Austin Hospital, Austin Health. Retrieved 6 December
2012.
14.
^ http://www.nucleonica.net/unc.aspx 15.
^ http://www.nscl.msu.edu/~thoennes/isotopes/additional-isotopes-2012.pdf 16.
^ http://education.jlab.org/itselemental/iso008.html 17.
^
[citation needed]
"Nuclear Physicists Examine Oxygen's Limits" (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/09/070913170108.htm). Science Daily.
2007-09-18. Retrieved 2010-09-16.
18.
References
For the table
Isotope masses from the area:
G. Audi, A. H. Wapstra, C. Thibault, J. Blachot and O. Bersillon (2003). "The NUBASE evaluation of nuclear and decay properties"
(http://www.nndc.bnl.gov/amdc/nubase/Nubase2003.pdf). Nuclear Physics A 729: 3128. Bibcode:2003NuPhA.729....3A
(http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2003NuPhA.729....3A). doi:10.1016/j.nuclphysa.2003.11.001 (http://dx.doi.org
/10.1016%2Fj.nuclphysa.2003.11.001).
Isotopic compositions and standard atomic masses from:
J. R. de Laeter, J. K. Bhlke, P. De Bivre, H. Hidaka, H. S. Peiser, K. J. R. Rosman and P. D. P. Taylor (2003). "Atomic weights of the
elements. Review 2000 (IUPAC Technical Report)" (http://www.iupac.org/publications/pac/75/6/0683/pdf/). Pure and Applied
Chemistry 75 (6): 683800. doi:10.1351/pac200375060683 (http://dx.doi.org/10.1351%2Fpac200375060683).
M. E. Wieser (2006). "Atomic weights of the elements 2005 (IUPAC Technical Report)" (http://iupac.org/publications/pac/78/11/2051
/pdf/). Pure and Applied Chemistry 78 (11): 20512066. doi:10.1351/pac200678112051 (http://dx.doi.org
/10.1351%2Fpac200678112051). Lay summary (http://old.iupac.org/news/archives/2005/atomic-weights_revised05.html).
Half-life, spin, and isomer data selected from the following sources. See editing notes on this article's talk page.
G. Audi, A. H. Wapstra, C. Thibault, J. Blachot and O. Bersillon (2003). "The NUBASE evaluation of nuclear and decay properties"
(http://www.nndc.bnl.gov/amdc/nubase/Nubase2003.pdf). Nuclear Physics A 729: 3128. Bibcode:2003NuPhA.729....3A
(http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2003NuPhA.729....3A). doi:10.1016/j.nuclphysa.2003.11.001 (http://dx.doi.org
/10.1016%2Fj.nuclphysa.2003.11.001).
National Nuclear Data Center. "NuDat 2.1 database" (http://www.nndc.bnl.gov/nudat2/). Brookhaven National Laboratory. Retrieved
September 2005.
N. E. Holden (2004). "Table of the Isotopes". In D. R. Lide. CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics (85th ed.). CRC Press. Section
11. ISBN 978-0-8493-0485-9.
For the prose
Cook, Gerhard A.; Lauer, Carol M. (1968). "Oxygen". In Clifford A. Hampel. The Encyclopedia of the Chemical Elements. New York:
Reinhold Book Corporation. pp. 499512. LCCN 68-29938.
Emsley, John (2001). "Oxygen". Nature's Building Blocks: An A-Z Guide to the Elements. Oxford, England, UK: Oxford University Press.
pp. 297304. ISBN 0-19-850340-7.
Parks, G. D.; Mellor, J. W. (1939). Mellor's Modern Inorganic Chemistry (6th edition ed.). London: Longmans, Green and Co.
Isotopes of nitrogen Isotopes of oxygen Isotopes of fluorine
Table of nuclides
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