Notation: mass number shown as a left superscript (e.g., ⁹⁹Mo).
Columns: Isotope | Z | A | Stable? | Half‑life | Decay mode(s) | Daughter | Radiation | Origin | Uses | Notes.
Backbone: per‑nuclide half‑lives/branches/daughters from the evaluated Isotopes of molybdenum table; natural composition from CIAAW. Key applications: ⁹⁹Mo → ⁹⁹ᵐTc generators (nuclear medicine), ¹⁰⁰Mo double‑beta decay experiments, ⁹⁵/⁹⁷Mo NMR, and the revised ⁹³Mo half‑life. (Wikipedia, ciaaw.org, IAEA Publications, International Atomic Energy Agency, NCBI, arXiv, Nature)
| Isotope | Z | A | Stable? | Half‑life | Decay mode(s) | Daughter | Radiation | Origin | Uses | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ⁸¹Mo | 42 | 81 | No | ~1 ms (#; > 400 ns) | β⁺?; β⁺,p? | ⁸¹Nb; ⁸⁰Zr | β⁺; p | Synthetic (p‑rich) | Dripline mapping | Trend‑based eval (#). (Wikipedia) |
| ⁸²Mo | 42 | 82 | No | ~30 ms (#; > 400 ns) | β⁺?; β⁺,p? | ⁸²Nb; ⁸¹Zr | β⁺; p | Synthetic | Dripline | Trend‑based (#). (Wikipedia) |
| ⁸³Mo | 42 | 83 | No | 23(19) ms | β⁺; β⁺,p? | ⁸³Nb; ⁸²Zr | β⁺; p | Synthetic | — | Tentative p‑branch. (Wikipedia) |
| ⁸⁴Mo | 42 | 84 | No | 2.3(3) s | β⁺; β⁺,p? | ⁸⁴Nb; ⁸³Zr | β⁺; p | Synthetic | — | — (Wikipedia) |
| ⁸⁵Mo | 42 | 85 | No | 3.2(2) s | β⁺ 99.86%; β⁺,p 0.14% | ⁸⁵Nb; ⁸⁴Zr | β⁺; delayed p | Synthetic | — | — (Wikipedia) |
| ⁸⁶Mo | 42 | 86 | No | 19.1(3) s | β⁺ | ⁸⁶Nb | β⁺ | Synthetic | — | — (Wikipedia) |
| ⁸⁷Mo | 42 | 87 | No | 14.1(3) s | β⁺ 85%; β⁺,p 15% | ⁸⁷Nb; ⁸⁶Zr | β⁺; delayed p | Synthetic | — | — (Wikipedia) |
| ⁸⁸Mo | 42 | 88 | No | 8.0(2) min | β⁺ | ⁸⁸Nb | β⁺ | Synthetic | — | — (Wikipedia) |
| ⁸⁹Mo | 42 | 89 | No | 2.11(10) min | β⁺ | ⁸⁹Nb | β⁺ | Synthetic | — | Isomer ⁸⁹ᵐMo 190 ms (IT). (Wikipedia) |
| ⁹⁰Mo | 42 | 90 | No | 5.56(9) h | β⁺ | ⁹⁰Nb | β⁺ | Activation | Lab source | Isomer ⁹⁰ᵐMo 1.14 µs (IT). (Wikipedia) |
| ⁹¹Mo | 42 | 91 | No | 15.49(1) min | β⁺ | ⁹¹Nb | β⁺ | Activation | — | Isomer ⁹¹ᵐMo 64.6 s (IT 50%). (Wikipedia) |
| ⁹²Mo | 42 | 92 | Stable | — | — | — | — | Natural (≈ 0.1465) | Targets/standards | Often marked “observationally stable.” (Wikipedia) |
| ⁹³Mo | 42 | 93 | No (long‑lived) | 4839(63) y | EC 95.7% → ⁹³ᵐNb (16.1 y, IT); EC 4.3% → ⁹³Nb | ⁹³ᵐ/⁹³Nb | X‑rays/Auger | Activation/cosmogenic | Activation chronometry | Direct half‑life determination (2021). (Wikipedia, Nature) |
| ⁹⁴Mo | 42 | 94 | Stable | — | — | — | — | Natural (≈ 0.0919) | Standards; geochem | — (Wikipedia) |
| ⁹⁵Mo | 42 | 95 | Stable | — | — | — | — | Natural (≈ 0.1587) | Mo‑NMR nucleus | I = 5/2; common NMR target. (Wikipedia, chem.ch.huji.ac.il, ScienceDirect) |
| ⁹⁶Mo | 42 | 96 | Stable | — | — | — | — | Natural (≈ 0.1667) | Standards | — (Wikipedia) |
| ⁹⁷Mo | 42 | 97 | Stable | — | — | — | — | Natural (≈ 0.0958) | Mo‑NMR nucleus | I = 5/2; lower sensitivity than ⁹⁵Mo. (Wikipedia, chem.ch.huji.ac.il) |
| ⁹⁸Mo | 42 | 98 | Stable | — | — | — | — | Natural (≈ 0.2429) | Standards | Often tagged “observationally stable.” (Wikipedia) |
| ⁹⁹Mo | 42 | 99 | No | 65.932(5) h (~66 h) | β⁻ → ⁹⁹ᵐTc (≈ 88.6%); β⁻ → ⁹⁹Tc (≈ 11.4%) | ⁹⁹ᵐTc/⁹⁹Tc | β⁻; γ (via ⁹⁹ᵐTc, 140 keV) | Fission product; LEU/HEU or (n,γ) | Parent of ⁹⁹ᵐTc generators used in ≈ 80% of diagnostic nuclear medicine | IAEA/NRC overviews. (IAEA Publications, International Atomic Energy Agency, NCBI) |
| ¹⁰⁰Mo | 42 | 100 | No (radio‑primordial) | 7.07(14)×10¹⁸ y (2νββ) | 2β⁻ → ¹⁰⁰Ru | ¹⁰⁰Ru | 2e⁻ + ν̄ₑν̄ₑ | Natural (≈ 0.0974) | Double‑β experiments (NEMO‑3, CUPID‑Mo) | NEMO‑3 T½ = 6.81×10¹⁸ y (full dataset). (Wikipedia, arXiv) |
| ¹⁰¹Mo | 42 | 101 | No | 14.61(3) min | β⁻ → ¹⁰¹Tc | ¹⁰¹Tc | β⁻ | Activation/fission | — | — (Wikipedia) |
| ¹⁰²Mo | 42 | 102 | No | 11.3(2) min | β⁻ → ¹⁰²Tc | ¹⁰²Tc | β⁻ | Activation/fission | — | — (Wikipedia) |
| ¹⁰³Mo | 42 | 103 | No | 67.5(15) s | β⁻ → ¹⁰³Tc | ¹⁰³Tc | β⁻ | Fission | — | — (Wikipedia) |
| ¹⁰⁴Mo | 42 | 104 | No | 60(2) s | β⁻ → ¹⁰⁴Tc | ¹⁰⁴Tc | β⁻ | Fission | — | — (Wikipedia) |
| ¹⁰⁵Mo | 42 | 105 | No | 36.3(8) s | β⁻ → ¹⁰⁵Tc | ¹⁰⁵Tc | β⁻ | Fission | — | — (Wikipedia) |
| ¹⁰⁶Mo | 42 | 106 | No | 8.73(12) s | β⁻ → ¹⁰⁶Tc | ¹⁰⁶Tc | β⁻ | Fission | — | — (Wikipedia) |
| ¹⁰⁷Mo | 42 | 107 | No | 3.5(5) s | β⁻ → ¹⁰⁷Tc | ¹⁰⁷Tc | β⁻ | Fission | — | Isomer 65.4 keV, 445 ns (IT). (Wikipedia) |
| ¹⁰⁸Mo | 42 | 108 | No | 1.105(10) s | β⁻ > 99.5% → ¹⁰⁸Tc; β⁻, n < 0.5% → ¹⁰⁷Tc | ¹⁰⁸/¹⁰⁷Tc | β⁻; delayed n | Fission | — | — (Wikipedia) |
| ¹⁰⁹Mo | 42 | 109 | No | 700(14) ms | β⁻ 98.7% → ¹⁰⁹Tc; β⁻, n 1.3% → ¹⁰⁸Tc | ¹⁰⁹/¹⁰⁸Tc | β⁻; delayed n | Fission | — | Isomer 69.7 keV, 210 ns. (Wikipedia) |
| ¹¹⁰Mo | 42 | 110 | No | 292(7) ms | β⁻ 98.0% → ¹¹⁰Tc; β⁻, n 2.0% → ¹⁰⁹Tc | ¹¹⁰/¹⁰⁹Tc | β⁻; delayed n | Fission | — | — (Wikipedia) |
| ¹¹¹Mo | 42 | 111 | No | 193.6(44) ms | β⁻ > 88%; β⁻, n < 12% | ¹¹¹/¹¹⁰Tc | β⁻; delayed n | Fission | — | Isomer ~200 ms (#). (Wikipedia) |
| ¹¹²Mo | 42 | 112 | No | 125(5) ms | β⁻; β⁻,n? | ¹¹²/¹¹¹Tc | β⁻; delayed n? | Fission (in‑flight) | — | Trend‑based in parts (#). (Wikipedia) |
| ¹¹³Mo | 42 | 113 | No | 80(2) ms | β⁻; β⁻,n? | ¹¹³/¹¹²Tc | β⁻; delayed n? | Fission (in‑flight) | — | Trend‑based (#). (Wikipedia) |
| ¹¹⁴Mo | 42 | 114 | No | 58(2) ms | β⁻; β⁻,n? | ¹¹⁴/¹¹³Tc | β⁻; delayed n? | Fission (in‑flight) | — | Independent eval cites 58 ms. (chemlin.org) |
| ¹¹⁵Mo | 42 | 115 | No | 45.5(20) ms | β⁻; β⁻,n?; β⁻,2n? | ¹¹⁵/¹¹⁴/¹¹³Tc | β⁻; delayed n/2n | Fission (in‑flight) | — | Per evaluated table (recent). (Wikipedia) |
| ¹¹⁶Mo | 42 | 116 | No | 32(4) ms | β⁻; β⁻,n?; β⁻,2n? | ¹¹⁶/¹¹⁵/¹¹⁴Tc | β⁻; delayed n/2n | Fission (in‑flight) | — | — (Wikipedia) |
| ¹¹⁷Mo | 42 | 117 | No | 22(5) ms | β⁻; β⁻,n?; β⁻,2n? | ¹¹⁷/¹¹⁶/¹¹⁵Tc | β⁻; delayed n/2n | Fission (in‑flight) | — | — (Wikipedia) |
| ¹¹⁸Mo | 42 | 118 | No | 21(6) ms | β⁻; β⁻,n?; β⁻,2n? | ¹¹⁸/¹¹⁷/¹¹⁶Tc | β⁻; delayed n/2n | Fission (in‑flight) | — | — (Wikipedia) |
| ¹¹⁹Mo | 42 | 119 | No (very uncertain) | ~12 ms (#; > 550 ns) | β⁻?; β⁻,n?; β⁻,2n? | ¹¹⁹/¹¹⁸/¹¹⁷Tc | β⁻; delayed n? | Fission (in‑flight) | Frontier region | Trend‑based (#). (Wikipedia) |
Radiation key: **β⁺/**EC → positrons (annihilation 511 keV) and/or characteristic X‑rays/Auger (for EC); β⁻ (electron); β⁻, n/2n = β‑decay with delayed neutron(s); p/β⁺,p = (β⁺‑delayed) proton(s); IT = isomeric transition γ.
Natural Mo isotopes & abundances: ⁹²Mo ≈ 14.649%, ⁹⁴Mo ≈ 9.187%, ⁹⁵Mo ≈ 15.873%, ⁹⁶Mo ≈ 16.673%, ⁹⁷Mo ≈ 9.582%, ⁹⁸Mo ≈ 24.292%, ¹⁰⁰Mo ≈ 9.744% (amount fractions; ⁹⁸Mo and ⁹²Mo are “observation‑stable”). (Wikipedia)
Applied & research highlights (Molybdenum)
- ⁹⁹Mo → ⁹⁹ᵐTc (t½ ≈ 66 h → 6 h): the workhorse generator for diagnostic nuclear medicine. ≈ 88.6% of ⁹⁹Mo decays feed ⁹⁹ᵐTc (140 keV γ), eluted from alumina columns as pertechnetate; production routes include fission (LEU/HEU) and neutron‑capture. (IAEA Publications, International Atomic Energy Agency, NCBI)
- ¹⁰⁰Mo (2νββ): a radio‑primordial nuclide supporting double‑beta physics; compilations adopt ~7.07×10¹⁸ y, while NEMO‑3 reports (6.81+0.38/−0.40)×10¹⁸ y to ¹⁰⁰Ru. (Wikipedia, arXiv)
- ⁹⁵Mo & ⁹⁷Mo (I = 5/2): the NMR‑active molybdenum isotopes; ⁹⁵Mo is typically preferred for sensitivity and line‑shape. (chem.ch.huji.ac.il, ScienceDirect)
- ⁹³Mo (EC, 4.84 ky): recent direct half‑life measurement refined decay to ⁹³ᵐNb (dominant), improving activation dosimetry/chronometry. (Nature)
- ⁹²Mo & ⁹⁴Mo: p‑process (proton‑rich) p‑nuclides of astrophysical interest in γ‑process modeling. (Wikipedia, thomasrauscher.ch)
Totals — Molybdenum (Z = 42)
- Stable: 6 (⁹²Mo, ⁹⁴Mo, ⁹⁵Mo, ⁹⁶Mo, ⁹⁷Mo, ⁹⁸Mo).
- Unstable (radioisotopes, ground states): 33 (⁸¹–⁹¹Mo, ⁹³, ⁹⁹–¹¹⁹Mo; ¹⁰⁰Mo is radio‑primordial 2νββ).
- Total isotopes (ground states): 39. (Wikipedia)
Running cumulative totals (H → Mo, Z = 1…42)
From the previous step (through Nb) we had ≥ 1028 total (106 stable, ≥ 922 unstable). Adding molybdenum (39 total; 6 stable; 33 unstable) gives:
- Cumulative total: ≥ 1067
- Cumulative stable: 112
- Cumulative unstable: ≥ 955
Sources & cross‑checks
- Isotopes of molybdenum — authoritative per‑nuclide list (A = 81–119), half‑lives, modes/branches, daughters, and “trend‑based” near‑dripline annotations. Also provides the natural mole fractions listed above. (Wikipedia)
- CIAAW (IUPAC) — molybdenum isotopic composition background and standard atomic weight (A_r = 95.95). (ciaaw.org)
- ⁹⁹Mo/⁹⁹ᵐTc generators: production and decay parameters (t½≈66 h; ~88.6% to ⁹⁹ᵐTc) and generator operation (alumina columns, saline elution). (IAEA Publications, International Atomic Energy Agency, NCBI)
- ¹⁰⁰Mo double‑β: evaluated value (table) and NEMO‑3 measurement. (Wikipedia, arXiv)
- ⁹³Mo half‑life (4.839 ky): direct determination with improved precision and branching to ⁹³ᵐNb. (Nature)
- Far n‑rich (¹¹⁴–¹¹⁹Mo): evaluated rows and independent confirmations (e.g., ¹¹⁴Mo t½≈58 ms). (Wikipedia, chemlin.org)
- Mo‑NMR (⁹⁵/⁹⁷Mo): spectroscopy references summarizing relative sensitivity and usage. (chem.ch.huji.ac.il, ScienceDirect)
- p‑nuclide context (⁹²,⁹⁴Mo): γ‑process/p‑process reviews. (Wikipedia, thomasrauscher.ch)
Next: Technetium — Tc (Z = 43).