Iron-59
Properties and data of the isotope 59Fe.
Iron-59 is a radioisotope of the chemical element iron, which, in addition to the element-specific 26 protons, has 33 neutrons in the atomic nucleus, resulting in the mass number 59.
In medicine or biochemistry, the radioactive nuclide can be administered intravenously, for example in the form of 59iron(II) citrate (Ferrutope), in order to determine various parameters of the kinetics of iron metabolism.
See also: List of individual Iron isotopes (and general data sources).
General data
Name of the isotope:Iron-59; Fe-59Symbol:59Fe or 5926FeMass number A:59 (= number of nucleons)Atomic number Z:26 (= number of protons)Neutrons N:33Nucleon pairing (Z - N):even - oddNuclear ratio (N/Z ratio):1.2692307692308 (= neutron-proton ratio)Neutron excess (N-Z):7Isotopic mass:58.9348735(4) u (atomic weight of Iron-59)Nuclide mass:58.9206108 u (calculated nuclear mass without electrons)Mass excess:-60.66494 MeVMass defect:0.55451956 u (per nucleus)Nuclear binding energy:516.53164302 MeV (per nucleus)
8.75477361 MeV (average binding energy per nucleon)Separation energy:SN = 6.58100(11) MeV (first neutron)
SP = 12.1264(27) MeV (first proton)Half-life:44.490(9) dDecay constant λ:1.803222479666 × 10-7 s-1Specific activity α:1.872286167992 × 10+15 Bq g-1
50602.328864662 Ci g-1Spin and parity:
(nuclear angular momentum)3/2-Magnetic dipole moment:μ(μN) = -0.3358(4)Nuclear g-factor:gl = -0.22386666666667Year of discovery:1938
Radioactive Decay
Gamma emissions: 1.292 MeV (43.2%); 0.465 MeV (53.1%) 1.099 MeV (56.5%) 0.192 MeV (3.1%) 0.143 MeV (1.0%).
Half-life T½ = 44.490(9) d respectively 3.843936 × 106 seconds s.
Decay
mode | Daughter | Probability | Decay energy | γ energy
(intensity) |
|---|
| β- | 59Co | 100 % | 1.5649(4) MeV | |
Parent Nuclides
Direct parent isotope is: 59Mn.
Isotones and Isobars
The following table shows the atomic nuclei that are isotonic (same neutron number N = 33) and isobaric (same nucleon number A = 59) with Iron-59. Naturally occurring isotopes are marked in green; light green = naturally occurring radionuclides.
| Z | Isotone N = 33 | Isobar A = 59 |
|---|
| 16 | 49S | |
| 17 | 50Cl | |
| 18 | 51Ar | |
| 19 | 52K | 59K |
| 20 | 53Ca | |
| 21 | 54Sc | 59Sc |
| 22 | 55Ti | 59Ti |
| 23 | 56V | 59V |
| 24 | 57Cr | 59Cr |
| 25 | 58Mn | 59Mn |
| 26 | 59Fe | 59Fe |
| 27 | 60Co | 59Co |
| 28 | 61Ni | 59Ni |
| 29 | 62Cu | 59Cu |
| 30 | 63Zn | 59Zn |
| 31 | 64Ga | 59Ga |
| 32 | 65Ge | 59Ge |
| 33 | 66As | |
| 34 | 67Se | |
| 35 | 68Br | |
| 36 | 69Kr | |
External data and identifiers
CAS:14596-12-4InChI Key:XEEYBQQBJWHFJM-AKLPVKDBSA-NSMILES:[59Fe]PubChem:ID 104784Adopted Levels, Gammas:NuDat 59Fe
Literature and References
[1] - Steven M. Larson et al.:
Common Pathway for Tumor Cell Uptake of Gallium-67 and Iron-59 via a Transferrin Receptor.
In: Journal of the National Cancer Institute, (1980), DOI 10.1093/jnci/64.1.41.
Last update: 2023-05-24
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