Isotopes of copper

List of isotopes

Copper-52

|-id=Copper-55 | β+

| | |-id=Copper-58 | 58Cu | 57.94453228(60) | 3.204(7) s | β+ | 58Ni | 1+ | | |-id=Copper-59 | 59Cu | 58.93949671(57) | 81.5(5) s | β+ | 59Ni | 3/2− | | |-id=Copper-60 | 60Cu | 59.9373638(17) | 23.7(4) min | β+ | 60Ni | 2+ | | |-id=Copper-61 | 61Cu | 60.9334574(10) | 3.343(16) h | β+ | 61Ni | 3/2− | | |-id=Copper-62 | 62Cu | 61.9325948(07) | 9.672(8) min | β+ | 62Ni | 1+ | | |-id=Copper-63 | 63Cu | 62.92959712(46) | 3/2− | 0.6915(15) | |- | β+ (61.52%)

| |-id=Copper-66 | 66Cu | 65.92886880(70) | 5.120(14) min | β− | 66Zn | 1+ | | |-id=Copper-66m | 600(17) ns | IT | 66Cu | (6)− | | |-id=Copper-67 | 67Cu | 66.92772949(96) | 61.83(12) h | β− | 67Zn | 3/2− | | |-id=Copper-68 | 68Cu | 67.9296109(17) | 30.9(6) s | β− | 68Zn | 1+ | | |-id=Copper-68m | IT (86%)

| | |-id=Copper-69m | 357(2) ns | IT | 69Cu | (13/2+) | | |-id=Copper-70 | 70Cu | 69.9323921(12) | 44.5(2) s | β− | 70Zn | 6− | | |-id=Copper-70m1 | β− (52%)

| | |-id=Copper-71m | 271(13) ns | IT | 71Cu | (19/2−) | | |-id=Copper-72 | 72Cu | 71.9358203(15) | 6.63(3) s | β− | 72Zn | 2− | | |-id=Copper-72m | 1.76(3) μs | IT | 72Cu | (6−) | | |-id=Copper-73 | β− (99.71%)

| | |-id=Copper-75m2 | 0.149(5) μs | IT | 75Cu | 3/2− | | |- | β− (?%)

| | |-id=Copper-79 | β−, n (66%)

| | | |-id=Copper-83 | 83Cu | 82.97811(54)# | 21# ms [410 ns] | | | 5/2−# | | |-id=Copper-84 | 84Cu | 83.98527(54)# | | | | | |

Copper nuclear magnetic resonance

Both stable isotopes of copper (63Cu and 65Cu) have nuclear spin of 3/2−, and thus produce nuclear magnetic resonance spectra, although the spectral lines are broad due to quadrupolar broadening. 63Cu is the more sensitive nucleus while 65Cu yields very slightly narrower signals. Usually though 63Cu NMR is preferred.

Copper-64 and other potential medical isotopes

Copper offers a relatively large number of radioisotopes that are potentially useful for nuclear medicine.

There is growing interest in the use of Cu, Cu, Cu, and Cu for diagnostic purposes and Cu and Cu for targeted radiotherapy. For example, Cu has a longer half-life than most positron-emitters (12.7 hours) and is thus ideal for diagnostic PET imaging of biological molecules.

Copper-76

Copper-76 is a radioactive istope of copper with one long-lived isomer copper-76m, whose half-lives are disputed. A 1990 study by Winger et al. at KEK reported two long-lived states with half-lives of 0.57(6) s and 1.27(3) s, with the longer-lived state being the isomer and having lower spin. Subsequent experiments could not identify the claimed long-lived isomer, with the isomer that was observed later being assigned a spin of 3− based on the levels of 76Zn populated by β− decay. (There is also a significant β−n decay mode to 75Zn.) However, a 2024 experiment at the University of Jyväskylä discovered that the previously observed 3− state is actually the isomer, whose excitation energy is 64.8(25) keV, and the long-lived ground state probably has spin 1+; Canete et al. claim that there is a significant isomeric transition to the ground state. However, Olaizola et al. (2025) found that both the ground state and the isomer have similar half-lives around 656(2) ms, like was found in most previous experiments. Additionally, they find that the non-3− state is probably 6− based on shell model calculations, excluding a significant isomeric transition and preventing identification of the ground state.

References

References

1. (14 February 2023). "$$B\rho $$-defined isochronous mass spectrometry and mass measurements of $$^{58}$$Ni fragments". The European Physical Journal A.
2. (June 2024). "Long-sought isomer turns out to be the ground state of 76Cu". Physics Letters B.
3. (July 2025). "The 76Cu conundrum remains unsolved". Physics Letters B.
4. (October 2022). "Mass measurements towards doubly magic 78Ni: Hydrodynamics versus nuclear mass contribution in core-collapse supernovae". Physics Letters B.
5. (3 April 2023). "First spectroscopic study of odd-odd Cu 78". Physical Review C.
6. (8 April 2024). "Production of new neutron-rich isotopes near the N = 60 isotones Ge 92 and As 93 by in-flight fission of a 345 MeV/nucleon U 238 beam". Physical Review C.
7. "(Cu) Copper NMR".
8. Harris, M. "Clarity uses a cutting-edge imaging technique to guide drug development". ''Nature Biotechnology'' September 2014: 34
9. (1 September 1990). "Structure of Zn 76 from Cu 76 decay and systematics of neutron-rich Zn nuclei". Physical Review C.