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Nuclear Chemistry: Radioactivity
Nuclear Chemistry: Radioactivity
Nuclear Chemistry: Radioactivity
Nuclear
Chemistry
(Chapter 9)
End of Chapter Exercises:
9‐9, 9‐19, 9‐21, 9‐23, 9‐31,
9‐33, 9‐37, 9‐41, 9‐45,
Radioactivity
– Discovered by French physicist, Henri Becquerel in 1896
– Naturally radioactive substances give rise to 3 types of rays…
Alpha Rays (α‐particles) ….positively charged of large mass
…identified as helium nuclei (
Beta Rays (β‐particles) ….a stream of rapidly moving electrons (
Gamma Rays (γ‐rays) …high energy electromagnetic radiation
…possess no mass or charge
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Electromagnetic Radiation
– EM‐radia on carries energy through space → radiant energy.
– X‐rays, γ‐rays, visible light, infrared, microwaves …
– All have wave‐like characteristics (diffraction, refraction), therefore
can be characterised by wavelength (λ) and frequency (ν).
– Wavelength – distance between corresponding points (i.e. crests,
troughs) on each wave [symbol λ – lambda]. Measured in m /nm.
1nm = 10‐9 m
– Frequency – number of complete wavelengths passing a given
point per unit time (usually per second), [symbol ʋ – nu], i.e. cycles
per second, hertz (Hz).
– All types of EM radiation move through a vacuum at a constant
speed, 2.9979 x 108 ms‐1, i.e. the speed of light (c).
Electromagnetic Radiation
– Mathematically, wavelength and
– frequency are related…
c (m.s‐1) = λ (m) x ν (s‐1)
– Or λ = …the lower the frequency, the longer the wavelength
– Relationship between the frequency (ν) of EM and its energy
– E = hν …higher the frequency, the higher the energy
– EM radiation comes in packets …known as photons
– The electron volt (eV) is frequently used as a unit in nuclear chemistry
– 1 eV = 1.602 x 10 3.829 10
– Materials that emit radiation …radioactive …comes from atomic
nucleus
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Radioactivity
– Different nuclei consist of different numbers of protons and
neutrons
– Some isotopes are radioactive (radioisotopes) …others are stable
– Isotopes in which the number of protons and neutrons are
balanced …stable
Lighter elements ….when and are approximately equal
( 6 and 6 )
Heavier elements …stability requires more than (Lead‐206,
82 and 124 ) …Z = 21 ‐ 83
– Serious imbalance in proton – to – neutron ratio …nucleus will
undergo a nuclear reaction to make ratio more favourable and
nucleus more stable …elements with Z > 83
Positron Emission
– Positron is a particle with the same mass as an electron and a
charge of +1
– Symbol
– Rarer emission than alpha or beta emission
– Nucleus transmuted into another nucleus with the same mass
number but atomic number one unit less
– Newly formed element one place to the left on periodic table
– → 11 → 11 )
Q: Arsenic‐74 emits a positron. Write the equation and identify the
product
Gamma Emission (
– Gamma emission often accompanies and emissions …if the
energy state of daughter element is not at its lowest (ground
state)
– Nucleus in the ‘excited state’ …excess energy released as
electromagnetic waves
– Some nuclei are pure ‐emitters (rare)
– Wavelengths of ‐rays are very short …have high energy
– Exceptional penetrating ability
– Atomic number and mass number remain unchanged
– ∗ → … ∗ represents boron in an excited state
– →
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Electron Capture
– Extra‐nuclear electron is absorbed by the nucleus …reacts
with a proton to form a neutron
– Atomic number is reduced by one, mass number
unchanged
– →
– May be accompanied by energy: →
– Q. Thallium‐201 decays by electron capture and gamma
emission. Write an equation for this decay and identify the
product
Decay Series
– When a radioactive parent disintegrates to form a radioactive
daughter element …it will decay further and transmute into
another element
– Process will continue until a stable element is formed …often one
of the stable isotopes of lead
E.g. the thorium decay series
– → → → → →
→ → →
→ →
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Nuclear Half-Life
– Transmutation occurs at a constant rate …independent of the
original quantity
– The time it takes for one‐half of any sample of radioactive material
to decay is called the half‐life, ⁄
– i.e. for half the parent atoms to form atoms of the daughter
elements
– Vary between fractions of a second and 10 years
– Independent of temperature and pressure
Q. Iodine‐131 has ⁄ = 8 days. If 10.0 mg is administered to a patient,
how much is left in the body after 32 days?
Q. TB Problem 9‐5
Intensity….
– Common unit of radiation intensity …curie (Ci)
– 1 curie (Ci) = 3.7 x 10 (disintegrations per second)
– SI unit …becquerel (Bq) = 1.0 dps
– E.g. A radioactive isotope in 10.0 mL has an intensity of 100.
mCi. A patient requires 2.5 mCi intravenously. What volume
should be administered?
– Intensity of radiation decreases with the square of the distance
– Eg. If the intensity of radiation 1.0 cm from a source is 300. mCi,
what is the intensity (in at 3.0 m?
2. Energy
– Energies of different particles/photons vary (E = hν)
– Penetrating power depends on energy as well as mass of
particles
– α‐particles < β‐particles < γ‐radiation
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Nuclear Medicine
– Nuclear chemistry has many important applications in the
health sciences
– A. Medical Imaging
– Goal is to create a picture of the target tissue
– 3 things to create useful image
A radioactive element (in pure form or as compound) that
becomes concentrated in the tissue to be imaged
A method of detecting the radiation and recording its intensity
and location
A computer to process the intensity‐location data and
transform it into a useful image
Medical Imaging…
– Chemically and metabolically, a radioactive isotope behaves in
exactly the same way as a nonradioactive isotope of the same
element
– Simplest form radioactive isotope injected intravenously and a
monitor used to detect the distribution of radiation in the patient’s
body
– E.g. iodine‐131, a β‐ and γ‐emitter
used to image and diagnose a malfunctioning
thyroid gland …by counting the γ‐radiation
emitted from the neck …rate of uptake of
I‐131 into the thyroid gland can be
determined
Hyper‐ or hypothyroidism can be diagnosed
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Medical Imaging…
– Most organ scans are based on the preferential uptake of some
radioactive isotopes by a particular organ
– PET …positron emission tomography ..based on certain isotopes emitting
positrons (i.e. carbon‐11 and fluorine‐18)
– →
– Positrons have very short lives …collision with an electron results in
annihilation and the formation of 2 gamma rays → 2
– Common tagged molecule for following uptake and metabolism of
glucose, , is 18‐fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)
– FDG enters the blood …moves to the brain …gamma‐ray detectors can
determine where the tagged glucose accumulates
– Whole body PET scans can be used to diagnose a variety of cancers, as
well as early stages of epilepsy and other diseases that involve abnormal
glucose metabolism i.e. schizophrenia
Medical Imaging…
– Radioactive isotopes are also used to follow the progress of
ingested material
– Materials taken in by the body are transformed, decomposed and
excreted
– Important to know how and in which part of the body these
processes occur
– Metabolic fate of essential chemicals in the body can also be
followed with radioactive tracers
– Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) …uses the magnetic spin of
electrons
– Hydrogen ( is most convenient one for MRI
– Differences in energy are converted to 3‐dimensional
colour images of the body
– Non‐invasive to the body, quick, safe and painless
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Radiation Therapy
– Main use of radioactive isotopes in therapy …selective destruction
of pathological cells and tissues
– Radiation is detrimental to cells …especially those that divide
rapidly
– Cancerous cells are the main targets for ionisation …typically when
a cancer is well localised
– May be used when cancerous cells spread and are in a metastatic
state
– May also be used for preventative purposes
– Pinpointing technique …using radiation i.e. high energy X‐rays or γ‐
rays from cobalt‐60 source
– Use specific radioactive isotopes to localise radiation damage i.e.
iodine‐131 (thyroid), iodine‐125 (prostate), actinium‐225 (prostate)