Thorium (90Th) has seven naturally occurring isotopes but none are stable. One isotope, 232Th, is relatively stable, with a half-life of 1.405×1010 years, considerably longer than the age of the Earth, and even slightly longer than the generally accepted age of the universe. This isotope makes up nearly all natural thorium, so thorium was considered to be mononuclidic. However, in 2013, IUPAC reclassified thorium as binuclidic, due to large amounts of 230Th in deep seawater. Thorium has a characteristic terrestrial isotopic composition and thus a standard atomic weight can be given.
Thirty-one radioisotopes have been characterized, with the most stable being 232Th, 230Th with a half-life of 75,380 years, 229Th with a half-life of 7,917 years, and 228Th with a half-life of 1.92 years. All of the remaining radioactive isotopes have half-lives that are less than thirty days and the majority of these have half-lives that are less than ten minutes. One isotope, 229Th, has a nuclear isomer (or metastable state) with a remarkably low excitation energy,[1] recently measured to be It has been proposed to perform laser spectroscopy of the 229Th nucleus and use the low-energy transition for the development of a nuclear clock of extremely high accuracy.[2] [3]
The known isotopes of thorium range in mass number from 207 to 238.
|-| 207Th[4] || style="text-align:right" | 90| style="text-align:right" | 117| | 9.7(+46.6−4.4) ms| α| 203Ra| |||-| 208Th[5] || style="text-align:right" | 90| style="text-align:right" | 118| 208.01791(4)| 1.7(+1.7-0.6) ms| α| 204Ra| 0+|||-| 209Th[6] || style="text-align:right" | 90| style="text-align:right" | 119| 209.01772(11)| 7(5) ms
[3.8(+69−15)]| α| 205Ra| 5/2−#|||-| rowspan=2|210Th| rowspan=2|| rowspan=2 style="text-align:right" | 90| rowspan=2 style="text-align:right" | 120| rowspan=2|210.015075(27)| rowspan=2|17(11) ms
[9(+17−4) ms]| α| 206Ra| rowspan=2|0+| rowspan=2|| rowspan=2||-| β+ (rare)| 210Ac|-| rowspan=2|211Th| rowspan=2|| rowspan=2 style="text-align:right" | 90| rowspan=2 style="text-align:right" | 121| rowspan=2|211.01493(8)| rowspan=2|48(20) ms
[0.04(+3−1) s]| α| 207Ra| rowspan=2|5/2−#| rowspan=2|| rowspan=2||-| β+ (rare)| 211Ac|-| rowspan=2|212Th| rowspan=2|| rowspan=2 style="text-align:right" | 90| rowspan=2 style="text-align:right" | 122| rowspan=2|212.01298(2)| rowspan=2|36(15) ms
[30(+20-10) ms]| α (99.7%)| 208Ra| rowspan=2|0+| rowspan=2|| rowspan=2||-| β+ (.3%)| 212Ac|-| rowspan=2|213Th| rowspan=2|| rowspan=2 style="text-align:right" | 90| rowspan=2 style="text-align:right" | 123| rowspan=2|213.01301(8)| rowspan=2|140(25) ms| α| 209Ra| rowspan=2|5/2−#| rowspan=2|| rowspan=2||-| β+ (rare)| 213Ac|-| 214Th|| style="text-align:right" | 90| style="text-align:right" | 124| 214.011500(18)| 100(25) ms| α| 210Ra| 0+|||-| 215Th|| style="text-align:right" | 90| style="text-align:right" | 125| 215.011730(29)| 1.2(2) s| α| 211Ra| (1/2−)|||-| rowspan=2|216Th| rowspan=2|| rowspan=2 style="text-align:right" | 90| rowspan=2 style="text-align:right" | 126| rowspan=2|216.011062(14)| rowspan=2|26.8(3) ms| α (99.99%)| 212Ra| rowspan=2|0+| rowspan=2|| rowspan=2||-| β+ (.006%)| 216Ac|-| style="text-indent:1em" | 216m1Th|| colspan="3" style="text-indent:2em" | 2042(13) keV| 137(4) μs||| (8+)|||-| style="text-indent:1em" | 216m2Th|| colspan="3" style="text-indent:2em" | 2637(20) keV| 615(55) ns||| (11−)|||-| 217Th|| style="text-align:right" | 90| style="text-align:right" | 127| 217.013114(22)| 240(5) μs| α| 213Ra| (9/2+)|||-| 218Th|| style="text-align:right" | 90| style="text-align:right" | 128| 218.013284(14)| 109(13) ns| α| 214Ra| 0+|||-| 219Th| | style="text-align:right" | 90| style="text-align:right" | 129| 219.01554(5)| 1.05(3) μs| α| 215Ra| 9/2+#| | |-| 220Th| | style="text-align:right" | 90| style="text-align:right" | 130| 220.015748(24)| 9.7(6) μs| α| 216Ra| 0+| | |-| 221Th|| style="text-align:right" | 90| style="text-align:right" | 131| 221.018184(10)| 1.73(3) ms| α| 217Ra| (7/2+)|||-| 222Th| | style="text-align:right" | 90| style="text-align:right" | 132| 222.018468(13)| 2.237(13) ms| α| 218Ra| 0+| | |-| 223Th|| style="text-align:right" | 90| style="text-align:right" | 133| 223.020811(10)| 0.60(2) s| α| 219Ra| (5/2)+|||-| rowspan=2|224Th| rowspan=2|| rowspan=2 style="text-align:right" | 90| rowspan=2 style="text-align:right" | 134| rowspan=2|224.021467(12)| rowspan=2|1.05(2) s| α| 220Ra| rowspan=2|0+| rowspan=2|| rowspan=2||-| CD (rare)| 208Pb
16O|-| rowspan=2|225Th| rowspan=2|| rowspan=2 style="text-align:right" | 90| rowspan=2 style="text-align:right" | 135| rowspan=2|225.023951(5)| rowspan=2|8.72(4) min| α (90%)| 221Ra| rowspan=2|(3/2)+| rowspan=2|| rowspan=2||-| EC (10%)| 225Ac|-| 226Th|| style="text-align:right" | 90| style="text-align:right" | 136| 226.024903(5)| 30.57(10) min| α| 222Ra| 0+|||-| 227Th| Radioactinium| style="text-align:right" | 90| style="text-align:right" | 137| 227.0277041(27)| 18.68(9) d| α| 223Ra| 1/2+| Trace[7] ||-| rowspan=2|228Th| rowspan=2|Radiothorium| rowspan=2 style="text-align:right" | 90| rowspan=2 style="text-align:right" | 138| rowspan=2|228.0287411(24)| rowspan=2|1.9116(16) y| α| 224Ra| rowspan=2|0+| rowspan=2|Trace[8] | rowspan=2||-| CD (1.3×10−11%)| 208Pb
20O|-| 229Th|| style="text-align:right" | 90| style="text-align:right" | 139| 229.031762(3)| 7.916(17)×103 y| α| 225Ra| 5/2+| Trace[9] ||-| style="text-indent:1em" | 229mTh|| colspan="3" style="text-indent:2em" | 8.355733554021(8) eV| 7(1) μs| IT[10] | 229Th+| 3/2+|||-| style="text-indent:1em" | 229mTh+|| colspan="3" style="text-indent:2em" | 8.355733554021(8) eV| 30(1) min| γ[10] | 229Th+| 3/2+|||-| rowspan=3|230Th[11] | rowspan=3|Ionium| rowspan=3 style="text-align:right" | 90| rowspan=3 style="text-align:right" | 140| rowspan=3|230.0331338(19)| rowspan=3|7.538(30)×104 y| α| 226Ra| rowspan=3|0+| rowspan=3|0.0002(2)[12] | rowspan=3||-| CD (5.6×10−11%)| 206Hg
24Ne|-| SF (5×10−11%)| (Various)|-| rowspan=2|231Th| rowspan=2|Uranium Y| rowspan=2 style="text-align:right" | 90| rowspan=2 style="text-align:right" | 141| rowspan=2|231.0363043(19)| rowspan=2|25.52(1) h| β−| 231Pa| rowspan=2|5/2+| rowspan=2|Trace| rowspan=2||-| α (10−8%)| 227Ra|-| rowspan=3|232Th[13] | rowspan=3|Thorium| rowspan=3 style="text-align:right" | 90| rowspan=3 style="text-align:right" | 142| rowspan=3|232.0380553(21)| rowspan=3|1.405(6)×1010 y| α[14] | 228Ra| rowspan=3|0+| rowspan=3|0.9998(2)| rowspan=3||-| SF (1.1×10−9%)| (various)|-| CD (2.78×10−10%)| 182Yb
26Ne
24Ne|-| 233Th|| style="text-align:right" | 90| style="text-align:right" | 143| 233.0415818(21)| 21.83(4) min| β−| 233Pa| 1/2+| Trace[15] ||-| 234Th| Uranium X1| style="text-align:right" | 90| style="text-align:right" | 144| 234.043601(4)| 24.10(3) d| β−| 234mPa| 0+| Trace||-| 235Th|| style="text-align:right" | 90| style="text-align:right" | 145| 235.04751(5)| 7.2(1) min| β−| 235Pa| (1/2+)#|||-| 236Th|| style="text-align:right" | 90| style="text-align:right" | 146| 236.04987(21)#| 37.5(2) min| β−| 236Pa| 0+|||-| 237Th|| style="text-align:right" | 90| style="text-align:right" | 147| 237.05389(39)#| 4.8(5) min| β−| 237Pa| 5/2+#|||-| 238Th|| style="text-align:right" | 90| style="text-align:right" | 148| 238.0565(3)#| 9.4(20) min| β−| 238Pa| 0+||
Thorium has been suggested for use in thorium-based nuclear power.
In many countries the use of thorium in consumer products is banned or discouraged because it is radioactive.
It is currently used in cathodes of vacuum tubes, for a combination of physical stability at high temperature and a low work energy required to remove an electron from its surface.
It has, for about a century, been used in mantles of gas and vapor lamps such as gas lights and camping lanterns.
Thorium was also used in certain glass elements of Aero-Ektar lenses made by Kodak during World War II. Thus they are mildly radioactive.[16] Two of the glass elements in the f/2.5 Aero-Ektar lenses are 11% and 13% thorium by weight. The thorium-containing glasses were used because they have a high refractive index with a low dispersion (variation of index with wavelength), a highly desirable property. Many surviving Aero-Ektar lenses have a tea colored tint, possibly due to radiation damage to the glass.
These lenses were used for aerial reconnaissance because the radiation level is not high enough to fog film over a short period. This would indicate the radiation level is reasonably safe. However, when not in use, it would be prudent to store these lenses as far as possible from normally inhabited areas; allowing the inverse square relationship to attenuate the radiation.[17]
228Th is an isotope of thorium with 138 neutrons. It was once named Radiothorium, due to its occurrence in the disintegration chain of thorium-232. It has a half-life of 1.9116 years. It undergoes alpha decay to 224Ra. Occasionally it decays by the unusual route of cluster decay, emitting a nucleus of 20O and producing stable 208Pb. It is a daughter isotope of 232U in the thorium decay series.
228Th has an atomic weight of 228.0287411 grams/mole.
Together with its decay product 224Ra it is used for alpha particle radiation therapy.[18]
229Th is a radioactive isotope of thorium that decays by alpha emission with a half-life of 7917 years.229Th is produced by the decay of uranium-233, and its principal use is for the production of the medical isotopes actinium-225 and bismuth-213.[19]
229Th has a nuclear isomer,, with a remarkably low excitation energy of .
Due to this low energy, the lifetime of 229mTh very much depends on the electronic environment of the nucleus. In neutral 229Th, the isomer decays by internal conversion within a few microseconds.[20] [21] However, the isomeric energy is not enough to remove a second electron (thorium's second ionization energy is), so internal conversion is impossible in Th+ ions. Radiative decay occurs with a half-life orders of magnitude longer, in excess of 1000 seconds.[22] [23] Embedded in ionic crystals, ionization is not quite 100%, so a small amount of internal conversion occurs, leading to a recently measured lifetime of ≈, which can be extrapolated to a lifetime for isolated ions of .
This excitation energy corresponds to a photon frequency of (wavelength).[24] Although in the very high frequency vacuum ultraviolet frequency range, it is possible to build a laser operating at this frequency, giving the only known opportunity for direct laser excitation of a nuclear state,[25] which could have applications like a nuclear clock of very high accuracy[26] [27] or as a qubit for quantum computing.[28]
These applications were for a long time impeded by imprecise measurements of the isomeric energy, as laser excitation's exquisite precision makes it difficult to use to search a wide frequency range. There were many investigations, both theoretical and experimental, trying to determine the transition energy precisely and to specify other properties of the isomeric state of 229Th (such as the lifetime and the magnetic moment) before the frequency was accurately measured in 2024.
Early measurements were performed via gamma ray spectroscopy, producing the excited state of 229Th, and measuring the difference in emitted gamma ray energies as it decays to either the 229mTh (90%) or 229Th (10%) isomeric states.
In 1976, this technique first indicated that 229Th has a nuclear isomer, 229mTh, with a remarkably low excitation energy.[29] At that time the energy was inferred to be below 100 eV, purely based on the non-observation of the isomer's direct decay. However, in 1990, further measurements led to the conclusion that the energy is almost certainly below 10 eV,[30] making it one of the lowest known isomeric excitation energies. In the following years, the energy was further constrained to, which was for a long time the accepted energy value.[31]
Improved gamma ray spectroscopy measurements using an advanced high-resolution X-ray microcalorimeter were carried out in 2007, yielding a new value for the transition energy of,[32] corrected to in 2009.[33] This higher energy has two consequences which had not been considered by earlier attempts to observe emitted photons:
But even knowing the higher energy, most of the searches in the 2010s for light emitted by the isomeric decay failed to observe any signal,[34] [35] [36] [37] pointing towards a potentially strong non-radiative decay channel. A direct detection of photons emitted in the isomeric decay was claimed in 2012[38] and again in 2018.[39] However, both reports were subject to controversial discussions within the community.[40] [41]
A direct detection of electrons being emitted in the internal conversion decay channel of 229mTh was achieved in 2016.[42] However, at the time the isomer's transition energy could only be weakly constrained to between 6.3 and 18.3 eV. Finally, in 2019, non-optical electron spectroscopy of the internal conversion electrons emitted in the isomeric decay allowed for a determination of the isomer's excitation energy to .[43] However, this value appeared at odds with the 2018 preprint showing that a similar signal as an xenon VUV photon can be shown, but with about less energy and an 1880 s lifetime. In that paper, 229Th was embedded in SiO2, possibly resulting in an energy shift and altered lifetime, although the states involved are primarily nuclear, shielding them from electronic interactions.
In a 2018 experiment, it was possible to perform a first laser-spectroscopic characterization of the nuclear properties of 229mTh.[44] In this experiment, laser spectroscopy of the 229Th atomic shell was conducted using a 229Th2+ ion cloud with 2% of the ions in the nuclear excited state. This allowed probing for the hyperfine shift induced by the different nuclear spin states of the ground and the isomeric state. In this way, a first experimental value for the magnetic dipole and the electric quadrupole moment of 229mTh could be inferred.
In 2019, the isomer's excitation energy was constrained to based on the direct detection of internal conversion electrons and a secure population of 229mTh from the nuclear ground state was achieved by excitation of the nuclear excited state via synchrotron radiation.[45] Additional measurements by a different group in 2020 produced a figure of (wavelength).[46] Combining these measurements, the expected transition energy is .[47]
In April 2024, two separate groups finally reported precision laser excitation Th4+ cations doped into ionic crystals (of CaF2 and LiSrAlF6 with additional interstitial F− anions for charge compensation), giving a precise (≈1 part per million) measurement of the transition energy.[48] [49] [50] [51] A one-part-per-trillion measurement soon followed in June 2024,[24] and future high-precision lasers will measure the frequency up to the accuracy of the best atomic clocks.
230Th is a radioactive isotope of thorium that can be used to date corals and determine ocean current flux. Ionium was a name given early in the study of radioactive elements to the 230Th isotope produced in the decay chain of 238U before it was realized that ionium and thorium are chemically identical. The symbol Io was used for this supposed element. (The name is still used in ionium–thorium dating.)
231Th has 141 neutrons. It is the decay product of uranium-235. It is found in very small amounts on the earth and has a half-life of 25.5 hours.[52] When it decays, it emits a beta ray and forms protactinium-231. It has a decay energy of 0.39 MeV. It has a mass of 231.0363043 u.
See main article: Thorium-232. 232Th is the only primordial nuclide of thorium and makes up effectively all of natural thorium, with other isotopes of thorium appearing only in trace amounts as relatively short-lived decay products of uranium and thorium.[53] The isotope decays by alpha decay with a half-life of 1.405 years, over three times the age of the Earth and approximately the age of the universe.Its decay chain is the thorium series, eventually ending in lead-208. The remainder of the chain is quick; the longest half-lives in it are 5.75 years for radium-228 and 1.91 years for thorium-228, with all other half-lives totaling less than 15 days.[54]
232Th is a fertile material able to absorb a neutron and undergo transmutation into the fissile nuclide uranium-233, which is the basis of the thorium fuel cycle.[55] In the form of Thorotrast, a thorium dioxide suspension, it was used as a contrast medium in early X-ray diagnostics. Thorium-232 is now classified as carcinogenic.[56]
233Th is an isotope of thorium that decays into protactinium-233 through beta decay. It has a half-life of 21.83 minutes. Traces occur in nature as the result of natural neutron activation of 232Th.[57]
234Th is an isotope of thorium whose nuclei contain 144 neutrons. 234Th has a half-life of 24.1 days, and when it decays, it emits a beta particle, and in doing so, it transmutes into protactinium-234. 234Th has a mass of 234.0436 atomic mass units (amu), and it has a decay energy of about 270 keV (kiloelectronvolts). Uranium-238 usually decays into this isotope of thorium (although in rare cases it can undergo spontaneous fission instead).