Krypton-85

Krypton-85
General
Symbol85Kr
Nameskrypton-85
Protons (Z)36
Neutrons (N)49
Nuclide data
Half-life (t1/2)10.728 years
Isotope mass84.9125273(21) Da
Spin9/2+
Excess energy−81480.267 keV
Binding energy8698.562 keV
Decay products85Rb
Decay modes
Decay modeDecay energy (MeV)
Beta decay0.687
Beta decay0.173
Isotopes of krypton
Complete table of nuclides

Krypton-85 (85Kr) is a radioisotope of krypton, distributed throughout the atmosphere and presently forming about 15 ppt of atmospheric krypton on average.

Krypton-85 has a half-life of 10.728 years and a maximum decay energy of 687 keV.[1] It decays into stable rubidium-85. Its most common decay (99.57%) is by beta particle emission with a maximum energy of 687 keV and an average energy of 251 keV. The second most common decay (0.43%) is by beta particle emission (maximum energy of 173 keV) followed by gamma ray emission (energy of 514 keV). Other decay modes have very small probabilities and emit less energetic gamma rays.[2] Krypton-85 is mostly synthetic, though it is produced naturally in trace quantities by cosmic ray spallation.

In terms of radiotoxicity, 440 Bq of 85Kr is equivalent to 1 Bq of radon-222, without considering the rest of the radon decay chain.

  1. ^ Kondev, F. G.; Wang, M.; Huang, W. J.; Naimi, S.; Audi, G. (2021). "The NUBASE2020 evaluation of nuclear properties" (PDF). Chinese Physics C. 45 (3): 030001. doi:10.1088/1674-1137/abddae.
  2. ^ National Nuclear Data Center. "NuDat 3.0 database". Brookhaven National Laboratory.