Boron Group - Isotopes

Isotopes

With the exception of the synthetic ununtrium, all of the elements of the boron group have stable isotopes. Because all their atomic numbers are odd, boron, gallium and thallium have only two stable isotopes, while aluminium and indium are monoisotopic, having only one. 10B and 11B are both stable, as are 27Al, 69Ga and 71Ga, 113In, and 203Tl and 205Tl. All of these isotopes are readily found in macroscopic quantities in nature. In theory, though, all isotopes with an atomic number greater than 40 are supposed to be unstable to such decay modes as spontaneous fission and alpha decay. Conversely, all isotopes whose atomic numbers are less than 40 are theoretically supposed to be energetically stable to all forms of decay (with the exception of proton decay, which has never been observed).

Like all other elements, the elements of the boron group have radioactive isotopes, either found in trace quantities in nature or produced synthetically. The longest-lived of these unstable isotopes is the indium isotope 115In, with its extremely long half-life of 4.41 × 1014 y. This isotope is relatively important among indium's radioisotopes. The shortest-lived is 7B, with a half-life of a mere 350±50 × 10−24 s, being the boron isotope with the fewest neutrons and a half-life long enough to measure. Some radioisotopes have important roles in scientific research; a few are used in the production of goods for commercial use or, more rarely, as a component of finished products.

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