neodymium144

Neodymium-144, symbol Nd-144, is a stable isotope of the element neodymium (Nd) with a mass number of 144. It is one of several stable isotopes that together make up naturally occurring neodymium. In natural Nd, Nd-144 accounts for roughly a quarter of the element’s isotopic composition, contributing to its overall isotopic mixture.

Nd-144 is stable and does not undergo radioactive decay under normal conditions. As a stable isotope, it provides a fixed reference in isotopic measurements and is present in natural samples alongside other Nd isotopes.

In nature, Nd-144 is produced through stellar nucleosynthesis processes and is incorporated into minerals that contain neodymium. In laboratory settings, Nd-144 can be produced or enriched through neutron capture or other nuclear reactions and subsequently separated by isotope separation techniques as needed for research or calibration purposes.

Applications of Nd-144 arise primarily in geochemistry and cosmochemistry through its role in the broader Nd isotope system. Measurements of Nd-143/Nd-144 ratios in rock, mineral, and meteorite samples are used to interpret crustal differentiation, mantle-crust evolution, and planetary formation histories. Nd-144, as a stable baseline isotope, supports high-precision mass spectrometric analyses that underpin these isotopic studies and the calculation of Nd isotope assemblages such as epsilon Nd values used in crustal evolution research.

See also: Neodymium, Isotopes of neodymium, Sm–Nd dating, isotopic geochemistry.