RADIOCHEMISTRY

CHM 524
CHAPTER 4
SUBTOPIC

• 4.1 Types of radioactive decay.

• 4.2 Balancing nuclear equations.
• 4.3 Radioactive decay rates.
• 4.4 Nuclear stability
• 4.5 Nuclear binding

2
DEFINITIONS

Chemical • atoms of reactants combine by rearrangement

of extranuclear electrons but the nuclei of the
reactions atoms remain unchanged

Nuclear • reaction involve the nucleus of the atom. The

number of protons or neutrons in nucleus
reactions changes to form a new element

Nuclear • is a study of the nuclear changes in atoms

chemistry
3
 Nuclear reactions
• Nuclear reactions are similar in many ways to chemical reactions.

• The main differences between chemical reactions and nuclear reactions

are:
Chemical Reactions
Atoms are rearranged by the breaking and
forming of chemical bonds
Only electrons in atomic or molecular
orbitals are involved in the breaking and
forming of bonds
Nuclear Reactions
Elements (or isotopes of the same
elements) are converted from one to
another
Protons, neutrons, electrons and other
elementary particles may be involved

Reactions are accompanied by absorption Reactions are accompanied by absorption

or release of relatively small amounts of
energy
Rates of reaction are influenced by
temperature, pressure, concentration and
catalysts.
or release of tremendous amounts of
energy
Rates of reaction normally are not affected
by temperature, pressure and catalysts.
4
 RADIOACTIVITY
A number of elements are unstable (refer periodic
table)

Their atomic nucleus breaks to form smaller atomic

nucleus of another element.

The protons and neutrons in the unstable nucleus

regroup to give the new nucleus.

This results in the release of excess particles and energy

from original nucleus – radiation.

The elements whose atomic nucleus emits radiation are

radioactive elements. This spontaneous breaking down
of the unstable atoms is called radioactive decay 5
RADIOACTIVITY

6
https://www.epa.gov/radiation/radioactive-decay
7
8
 Self- learning

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYDil96NR5Q

9
RADIATION

ALPHA BETA GAMMA

Rutherford named the alpha

and beta 'radiation' in 1899.
He devised the catchy name
for gamma radiation in 1903.
GAM-MA

10
PROPERTIES OF RADIATION

3.
1. 2.
PENETRATING 4. IONISATION
NATURE VELOCITY
POWER

11
 ALPHA
NATURE

Doubly ionised helium

atom, He2+ having a mass Represented by
Positive charged particles
number of 4 (2 protons
and 2 neutrons)

When the nucleus of a

neutral atom emits an
The atom moves 2 places
alpha particle (2p + 2n) it
down the periodic table
loses 2 positive charges
and at the same time
and electrical neutrality is
loses 4 units of mass
maintained by following
loss of 2 orbital electrons
12
13
 ALPHA

Velocity • Ejected from radioactive nuclei with very high velocity,

about 1/10 that of light

Penetrating • Due to its positive charge and relatively large size, have
very little penetrating power – easily stopped by a piece of
Power thick paper

• Caused intense ionisation of a gas through which they pass

Ionisation – due to high velocity and attraction for electrons, alpha

particle break away electrons from gas molecules and
convert them to positive ions

14
 BETA
NATURE

15
16
17
18
19
 BETA

Velocity • Travel about 10 times faster than α particles.

Velocity is about the same as light

Penetrating • 100 times more penetrating than α particles due to

higher velocity and negligible mass. Can be stopped
Power by about 1 cm thick sheet of aluminium or 1 m of air

• Poor ionisers. About 1/100 that of particles.

Ionisation Though the velocity is higher, but mass is smaller,
Hence, kinetic energy is much less

20
GAMMA
NATURE

21
22
 GAMMA

Velocity • travels with the velocity of light

Penetrating • Most penetrating since high velocity and non-material

nature. Cannot be stopped even by 5cm thick sheet of
Power lead or several metres of thick layer of concrete

Ionisation • Has very weak ionising power due to the chances for
photon-electron collisions are small

23
24
25
Exercise

• Radon-222 is enclosed in capsules as a radiation source for treatment of some types

of cancer; phosphorus-32 is used to label red blood cells for blood volume
determinations; aluminium-28 is produced in the bombardment of aluminium-27 by
neutrons.
• Write nuclear equation for
• a)α-particle emission by radon-222
• b)β - decay of phosphorus-32
• c) γ-decay of aluminium-28 26
27
28
 exercise

A. Write the balanced nuclear equation for the processes below:

1.Chromium-51 which targets the spleen and is used as a tracer in studies
of red blood cells, decays by electron capture.
2.Iodine-131, used to treat hyperactive thyroid glands, decays by
producing a β particle.
3.Uranium-235, which is used in atomic bombs, decays initially by α
particle production

29
BAND OF STABILITY

30
The type of radioactive decay produced depends to a large extent on how
its neutron-to-proton ratio compares to those of nearby nuclei within
the belt of stability:

1.Nuclei above the belt of stability (high n/p)

Neutron-rich nuclei can lower their ratio and move toward the belt of
stability by emitting a beta particle – decreasing the no. of neutron and
increases the no. of proton in a nucleus

2. Nuclei below the belt of stability (low n/p)

These proton-rich nuclei can increase the ratio by either positron emission
or electron capture – increasing the no. of neutrons and decreasing the
no. of protons . Positron emission is more common among the lighter
nuclei, however the electron capture becomes increasingly common as
nuclear charge increases

31
NUCLEAR STABILITY

1.Certain numbers of n and p are extra stable:

- n or p = 2, 8, 20, 50, 82 and 126
- extra stable numbers of electrons in noble gases: e = 2, 10, 18, 36, 54
and 86
2.Nuclei with even numbers of both p and n are more stable than
those with odd numbers of n and p (refer to table 23.2)
3.All isotopes of the elements with Z > 83 are radioactive
4.All isotopes of Tc (z=43) and Pm (z=61) are radioactive.

32
stability

33
Exercise

34
Exercise

35
Unstable

Un
sta
ble
36
37
 NUCLEAR BINDING ENERGY
qThe energy in forming a nucleus form its protons and neutrons
qThe energy required to break up a nucleus into its components –
protons and neutrons
qThe quantitative measure of nuclear stability.
qBinding Energy is expressed as a positive quantity.

38
Mass Defect (Δm)
• The difference between the mass of a nucleus and the sum of the masses of the nucleons
of which it is composed.
• Three things need to be known in order to calculate the mass defect:
- the actual mass of the nucleus,
- the composition of the nucleus (number of protons and of neutrons),
- the masses of a proton and of a neutron.

39
40
Example 1: Calculate the nuclear binding energy (BE) of (18.9984 amu) in J.
• ~ isotope has an atomic mass of 18.9984 amu (from periodic table).

• Num. of proton = 9 19
• Num. of neutron = 10 9 F Δm =(Mass of p + n) - Mass of nuclei

Using the known mass of the proton of atom (1.007825 amu) and mass of
neutron (1.008665)

The mass of 9 atoms (that is the mass of 9 protons and 9 electrons) is :

9 x 1.007825 amu = 9.070425 amu (mass of proton)

The mass of 10 neutrons is 10 x 1.008665 amu = 10.08665 amu (mass of neutron)

Therefore, the atomic mass of a atom calculated form the known numbers of
electrons, protons and neutrons is :
9.070425 amu + 10.08665 amu = 19.15708 amu (mass of proton + neutron)
Δm =(Mass of p + n) - Mass of nuclei
= 19.15708 amu -18.9984 amu
= 0.1587 amu
41
• Einstein’s mass-energy equivalence relationship states that:
2
• E= energy
E  mc
• m=mass
• C=speed of light (3.00 x 108 m/s)
Amount of energy released

 
E  m c 2

1 amu = 1.6606 x 10-27 kg

1 J = 1 kg m2/s2

42
• Energy released in the formation of 1 mole of fluorine nuclei is:

E  (2.37 x10 11 J )(6.022 x10 23 / mol )

• nuclear binding energy per nucleon:
= 1.43 x 1013 J/mol
= 1.43 x 1010 kJ/mol

Nuclear binding energy per nucleon = nuclear binding energy

For fluorine-19 nucleus, number of nucleons

Nuclear binding energy per nucleon = 2.37 x 10 11 J

19 nucleons
= 1.25 x 10-12 J/nucleon

43
Example 2:
Radium-224 decays by α-particle emission.
a) Write the balanced nuclear equation. 224 220 4
88 Ra  86 Rn  2 He

b) Calculate the mass defect (Δm) (in unit kg)

Δm =mass of product – mass
of reactants

44
45
46
The binding energy per nucleon at first increases in magnitude as the
number increases until it reaches 1.4 x 10-12 J (Fe-56)
Then decreases slowly to about 1.2 x 10-12 J for very heavy nuclei.
Trend indicates that nuclei of intermediate mass no. are more tightly
bound (more stable) than those with either smaller or larger mass no.
Two significant consequences:
1.Heavy nuclei gain stability and give energy if they are fragmented into
two-mid sized nuclei.(fission)
2.Greater amount of energy are released if very light nuclei are combined
or fused together to give massive nuclei. (fusion)

47
The rate of decay of radioactivity

The activity decreased in such a way that it

reached one half of its value after 3.8 days.

Thus, after 3.8 days it was 50 % of its initial value,

after 7.6 days, 25 % and so on.

All known radioactive species have been found to

decay in this manner.

Half-life (t½) is the time required for a radioactive

atom to reach one half of its initial
activity/concentration/mass (gram).

This quantity is the characteristic of the particular

radioactive substance

48
49
50
Exercise:

1. Iodine-131 is used to destroy thyroid tissue in the treatment of an

overactive thyroid. The half-life of iodine-131 is 8 days. If a hospital receives
a shipment of 200 g of iodine-131, how much I-131 would remain after 32
days?
[12.5 g]

2. Technetium-99m is used for brain scans. If a laboratory receives a shipment

of 200 g of this isotope and after 24 hours only 12.5 g of this isotope remain,
what is the half-life of technetium-99m?
[6 hrs]

3. Mercury -197 is used for kidney scans and has a half-life of 3 days. If the
amount of mercury-197 needed for a study is 1.0 gram and the time allowed
for shipment is 15 days, how much mercury-197 will need to be ordered?
[32 g]

51
Nuclear Fission

• Is the process in which a heavy nucleus (mass number > 200) divides
to form smaller nuclei of intermediate mass and one or more
neutrons.

• Because the heavy nucleus is less stable than its products, this
process releases a large amount of energy.

• Example: Uranium undergoes fission to yield 2 smaller nuclei. A

representative reaction is:

235
92U  01n 38
90
Sr  143
54 Xe  3 1
0n
52
Figure 4.1:
Nuclear fission of . When a nucleus captures a neutron (green sphere),
it undergoes fission to yield 2 smaller nuclei.

53
2 types of fission of heavy atomic nuclei into 2 nearly equal fragments
may be distinguished.

• 1) Spontaneous fission, where the nucleus undergoes fission without

external influence (e.g. without introduction of energy).

• 2) Induced fission, where the decay of an energetically excited nuclear

state through fission and is a particular form of energy loss from an
excited compound nucleus.

54
Reaction of 235U with thermal neutrons

• When a thermal neutron collides with a 235U nucleus, the neutron is

captured and forms a highly excited compound nucleus,

• The compounds nucleus (t½ ≈ 10-14 s) must now lose its excitation
energy. This it can do through γ-emission or through fission.

• Every 7 235U nuclei have captured a thermal neutron, about 6 will

undergo fission and one will decay to the ground state of the long lived
236U, whereby the excitation energy is emitted in the form of γ- quanta.

55
 Nuclear Fusion
• The process involves the combining of small nuclei into larger ones

• Binding energy is released from the fusion of light atomic nuclei. Only
the fusion of hydrogen isotopes to helium has up to now been
investigated.

56
57
Nuclear radiation detector

qThe simple type in principle

qThe ions and electrons produced by the incident radiation
move in the electric field to the electrodes and produce there
a current. The current is measured by a sensitive ammeter.

Gas counters

Disadvantage: it can only be used with very

strong sources, since the current is very
sm≈a1ll0 ( -15A) and difficult to measure
accurately. If the saturation potential is
reached, all the charge carriers are
discharged and a constant current is
obtained which is independent of any
further increase in potential.58
 Nuclear radiation detector

Geiger-Müller Counters

Advantage: very large output

pulse≈ (10V) with no further
amplification and so the
complete counting
arrangement is cheap.

Disadvantages: after a pulse has

been registered, the counter
cannot operate until the
positive ions have reached the
cathode and been discharged.
59
Nuclear radiation detector

Others types:
• Proportional counters
• Scintillation counters
• Solid state or semiconductor detectors

60
Applications of radioactive nuclides:

• Radioisotopes are widely used in medical diagnosis and therapy.

• Many of the medically useful radioisotopes have very short half-lives.

Although ionizing radiation can induce cancer, it can also be used to
treat cancer. Cancer cells are destroyed more easily by radiation than
are healthy, normal cells.

• In some instances, radioactive chemicals (called

radiopharmaceuticals) can be ingested and allowed to find their own
way to the targeted tissue.

61
Medical Area
(Imaging)

62
FOOD INDUSTRY

63
Radioactive tracer

Their atoms can be attached to other substances, which are then said
to be “tagged.”

• The fate of these “tagged” substances can be tracked with a radiation

detector.

These tracers can be used to:

üDetect leaks in underground piping systems.
üDetermine frictional wear in piston rings.
üDetermine the uptake of phosphorus and its distribution in plants.
üExamine transmission of drugs from mother to fetus.
üElucidate reaction mechanisms.

64
Radiocarbon Dating

ØRadioactive C-14 is formed in the upper atmosphere by nuclear

reactions initiated by neutrons in cosmic radiation

ØThe C-14 is oxidized to CO2, which circulates through the biosphere.

ØWhen a plant dies, the C-14 is not replenished.
ØBut the C-14 continues to decay with t1/2 = 5730 years.
ØActivity of a sample can be used to date the sample.

65
Radiocarbon Dating limitation

• It requires several hundred years for enough atoms to decay for the
difference in activities to be measured.

• By ≈50,000 years there is so little C-14 activity left that is very difficult
to accurately measure that activity.

• The C-14 dating analysis is a destructive testing method where some

of the material must be destroyed for measurement

• A constant C-14 level is a poor assumption and accounting for

variation is complicated

66
Alhamdulillah, all chapters are completed

67