Isotopes of hafnium

Isotopes of hafnium (72Hf)
Main isotopes Decay
abun­dance half-life (t1/2) mode pro­duct
172Hf synth 1.87 y ε 172Lu
174Hf 0.16% 3.8×1016 y α 170Yb
176Hf 5.26% stable
177Hf 18.6% stable
178Hf 27.3% stable
178m2Hf synth 31 y IT 178Hf
179Hf 13.6% stable
180Hf 35.1% stable
182Hf synth 8.9×106 y β− 182Ta
Standard atomic weight Ar°(Hf)

Natural hafnium (72Hf) consists of five observationally stable isotopes (176Hf, 177Hf, 178Hf, 179Hf, and 180Hf) and one very long-lived radioisotope, 174Hf, with a half-life of 3.8×1016 years. In addition, there are 34 known synthetic radioisotopes, the most stable of which is 182Hf with a half-life of 8.9×106 years. This extinct radionuclide is used in hafnium–tungsten dating to study the chronology of planetary differentiation.

No other radioisotope has a half-life over 1.87 years. Most isotopes have half-lives under 1 minute. There are also at least 27 nuclear isomers, the most stable of which is 178m2Hf with a half-life of 31 years. All isotopes of hafnium are either radioactive or observationally stable, meaning that they are predicted to be radioactive but no actual decay has been observed.

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