bromine81

Bromine-81 (81Br) is a stable isotope of bromine. It is one of the two naturally occurring isotopes of bromine, the other being bromine-79. Bromine-81 has an atomic mass of approximately 80.916 u. Its nucleus contains 35 protons and 46 neutrons. In natural isotopic abundance, bromine consists of about 50.69% bromine-79 and 49.31% bromine-81. This near equal abundance of the two isotopes is a key factor in the atomic weight of bromine.

The properties of bromine-81 are largely identical to those of other bromine isotopes, with the exception of its mass and nuclear spin. Like all bromine isotopes, bromine-81 is a halogen. Its chemical behavior is dictated by the 35 electrons it possesses, not the specific number of neutrons in its nucleus. This means that bromine-81 participates in the same chemical reactions as bromine-79.

Bromine-81 is used in various scientific applications, particularly in nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. The nucleus of bromine-81 has a nuclear spin of 3/2, making it NMR-active. This property allows it to be studied using NMR techniques, providing insights into the structure and dynamics of molecules containing bromine. While bromine-79 is also NMR-active, bromine-81 is often preferred in certain studies due to differences in its gyromagnetic ratio, which can affect spectral resolution and sensitivity. Furthermore, enriched samples of bromine-81 can be produced for specific research purposes.