Isotopes of sulfur

Isotope data
sulfur symbol icon

Sulfur isotopes are mainly used in medical applications. S-33 is used for the production of the therapeutic radioisotope P-33. S-32 is used for the production of the radioisotope P-32 which is also used for therapeutic purposes. S-34 can be used for the production of the medical radioisotope Cl-34m and for S-35. Both S-33 and S-34 are used for genome research. Finally, S-36 has been used for the production of the radioisotopes S-37 and S-38. Sulfur isotopes can be obtained from Trace Sciences International.

Naturally occurring isotopes

This table shows information about naturally occuring isotopes, their atomic masses, their natural abundances, their nuclear spins, and their magnetic moments. Further data for radioisotopes (radioactive isotopes) of sulfur are listed (including any which occur naturally) below.
Isotope Atomic mass (ma/u) Natural abundance (atom %) Nuclear spin (I) Magnetic moment (μ/μN)
32S 31.97207070 (25) 94.93 (31) 0 0
33S 32.97145843 (23) 0.76 (2) 3/2 0.643821
34S 33.96786665 (22) 4.29 (28) 0 0
36S 35.96708062 (27) 0.02 (1) 0 0

Isotopic abundances of S
In the above picture, the most intense ion is set to 100% since this corresponds best to the output from a mass spectrometer. This is not to be confused with the relative percentage isotope abundances which total 100% for all the naturally occurring isotopes.

Radiosotope data

Further data for naturally occuring isotopes of sulfur are listed above. This table gives information about some radiosotopes of sulfur, their masses, their half-lives, their modes of decay, their nuclear spins, and their nuclear magnetic moments.
Isotope Mass Half-life Mode of decay Nuclear spin Nuclear magnetic moment
30S 29.984903 1.18 s EC to 30P 0
31S 30.979555 2.56 s EC to 31P 1/2
35S 34.9690322 87.2 d β- to 35Cl 3/2 1.00
37S 36.9711257 5.05 m β- to 37Cl
38S 37.97116 2.84 h β- to 38Cl 0
39S 38.97514 11.5 s β- to 39Cl
40S 39.9755 9 s β- to 40Cl

Sheffield ChemPuter isotope pattern calculator

You can use WebElements to calculate an isotope pattern for an arbitrary chemical formula:

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References

  1. Naturally occurring isotope abundances: Commission on Atomic Weights and Isotopic Abundances report for the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry in Isotopic Compositions of the Elements 1989, Pure and Applied Chemistry, 1998, 70, 217. [Copyright 1998 IUPAC]
  2. Masses, nuclear spins, and magnetic moments: I. Mills, T. Cvitas, K. Homann, N. Kallay, and K. Kuchitsu in Quantities, Units and Symbols in Physical Chemistry, Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford, UK, 1988. [Copyright 1988 IUPAC]
  3. For further information about radioisotopes see Jonghwa Chang's (Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute) Table of the Nuclides

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sulfur atomic number