ASSIGNMENT: 1

INORGANIC CHEMISTRY
SUBMITTED TO: MRS. WAHEEDA
SUBMITTED BY: JMAILA RANI
ROLL NO: 14231507-004

Department: Chemistry
Semester: viii

MARCH 26, 2018

 BINDING ENERGY AND NUCLEAR STABILITY

BINDING ENERGY:
The difference between the actual nuclear mass and the mass of all the individual nucleons,
which must be assembled to make the nucleus, is called the total binding energy, Btot (A, Z). It
represents the work necessary to dissociate the nucleus into separate nucleons or the energy that
would be released if all the nucleons came together to form the nucleus. It can be written as:
Btot (A, Z) = [Z M (1H) + (A - Z) M (n) – M (A, Z)-c2

Where M (A, Z) is the atomic mass of AZ, M (n) and M (1H) are the mass of a neutron and a
hydrogen atom, respectively. The average binding energy per nucleon, Bave (A, Z) is given by:
Bave (A, Z) = Btot (A, Z)/A

In many tabulations of nuclear properties, the quantity that is tabulated is the mass excess or
mass defect rather than the mass. The mass excess ∆, is defined as M (A, Z) - A, usually given in units
of the energy equivalent of mass. Since in most, if not all calculations, the number of nucleons will
remain constant, the use of mass excesses in the calculations will introduce an arithmetic
simplification. Another term that is sometimes used is the mass excess per nucleon or the packing
fraction = [(M 2 A)/A].
The work necessary to separate a neutron, proton, or a particle from a nucleus is called the
(neutron, proton, or a particle) separation energy S. For a neutron
Sn = [M (A - 1, Z) + M (n) – M (A, Z)] c2

Such separation energies can be expressed in terms of the total binding energy by

Sn = Btot (A, Z) - Btot (A - 1, Z)

For example calculating the neutron separation energy of 236U and 239U.
Sn = [M (A - 1, Z) + M (n) – M (A, Z)] c2

For 236U
Sn = [M235U + Mn - M236U] c2
Sn = 40.914 = 8.071 – 42.441
Sn = 6.544 MeV
For 239U
Sn = [M238U + Mn - M239U] c2
Sn = 47.304 + 8.071 – 50.596
Sn =4.779 MeV

It is noted that the neutron separation energy of AZ is the excitation energy of the nucleus AZ
produced when A-1Z is irradiated with “zero energy” neutrons. Thus, when even–odd 235U is irradiated
with neutrons, the 236U is produced at excitation energy of 6.5 MeV while the same process with 238U
gives an excitation energy of 4.8 MeV. If it takes 5–6 MeV to cause these nuclei to fission, 235U is
“fissionable” with zero energy neutrons while 238U is not.
BINDING ENERGY PER NUCLEON
The binding energy per nucleon is a measure of the relative stability of a nucleus. The more
tightly bound a nucleus is, the greater the binding energy per nucleon is. A plot of the average binding
energy per nucleon as function of the mass number is shown in Figure. Several features of this plot
are worth noting. The greatest stability is associated with medium mass nuclei, with the most stable
nucleus being 62Ni. The heaviest nuclei could increase their stability by fissioning while the lightest
nuclei could increase their stability by fusing to make nuclei in the Fe–Ni region.
 The most striking feature of Figure is the approximate independence of A as the average
binding energy per nucleon for most nuclei (ranging from 7.4 to 8.8 MeV). This is a direct consequence
of the short range, saturation character of the nuclear force. Suppose that the nuclear force was long
range and not saturated. Suppose further that the binding energy of one nucleon to every other
nucleon was some constant K.

Figure. Average binding energy per nucleon vs. mass number A for the stable nuclei

In a nucleus with “A” nucleons, there would be A (A - 1)/2 “bonds” and thus the total binding
energy would be KA (A - 1)/2 with the binding energy per nucleon being K (A - 1)/2. In other words,
one would predict that the average binding energy per nucleon would increase linearly with A. That
does not happen, as shown in Figure. Thus, one concludes that the nuclear force saturates and is short
range.
In Figure. One also observes definite peaks in the average binding energy per nucleon for
certain values of A. This is quite reminiscent of the plots of ionization potential vs Z for atoms and
suggests that there are certain special stable nucleonic configurations similar to the inert gas
structures of atoms. The general decrease of Bave at higher values of A is due to the increasing influence
of the Coulomb force.
NUCLEAR STABILITY
Nuclear stability means that nucleus is stable meaning that it does not spontaneously emit
any kind of radioactivity (radiation). On the other hand, if the nucleus is unstable (not stable), it has
the tendency of emitting some kind of radiation, i.e., it is radioactive. Therefore the radioactivity is
associated with unstable nucleus:
Stable nucleus – non-radioactive
Unstable nucleus – radioactive
There are no concrete theories to explain nuclear stability, but there are only general
observations based on the available stable isotopes. Following are some important factors on which
the nuclear stability depends, i.e., with the help these factors we can predict whether a given nuclei is
stable or not:
1. Even and odd numbers of protons (p) and neutrons (n)
2. Neutron / proton ratio
3. Packing fraction
4. Binding energy per nucleon
5. Nuclear shell model: Magic numbers
These factors are discussed in detail as follow
Even and odd number of Protons and Neutrons
One of the simplest ways of predicting the nuclear stability is based on whether nucleus
contains odd/even number of protons and neutrons:

Nuclei Type No. of No. of Mass No No. of stable Examples

Protons (p) Neutrons (n) (A=p+n) nuclides or
isotopes
4
Even-p & n Even Odd Even 166 2He
nuclides
17
Even-p & odd Even Odd Odd 55 8O
n nuclides
7
Odd-p & even Odd Even Odd 52 3Li
n nuclides
2
Odd-p& n Odd Even Even 6 1H
nuclides
  Nuclides containing odd numbers of both protons and neutrons are the least stable means
more radioactive.
 Nuclides containing even numbers of both protons and neutrons are most stable means less
radioactive.
 Nuclides contain odd numbers of protons and even numbers of neutrons are less stable than
nuclides containing even numbers of protons and odd numbers of neutrons.
Neutron/Proton ratio
The relationship between the number of protons and the number of neutrons in stable nuclei,
arbitrarily defined as having a half-life longer than 10 times the age of Earth, is shown graphically
in Figure. The stable isotopes form a “peninsula of stability” in a “sea of instability.” Only two stable
isotopes, 1H and 3He, have a neutron-to-proton ratio less than 1. Several stable isotopes of light atoms
have a neutron-to-proton ratio equal to 1 (e.g., 42He, 105B, and 4020Ca). All other stable nuclei have a
higher neutron-to-proton ratio, which increases steadily to about 1.5 for the heaviest nuclei.
Regardless of the number of neutrons, however, all elements with Z > 83 are unstable and radioactive.

The nuclei whose n/p value lies above or below this belt are radioactive and hence
spontaneously disintegrate to give stable nuclei. The following three cases may be studied:
1. The nuclei lying above the belt:
The nuclei lying above the belt of stability are richer in neutrons and hence they disintegrate
in such manner that one of their neutron is converted into proton, such nuclei emit a beta
particle.
[ 10n 1
1H or 11p + 01e ]
Since it is this decay process in which a neutron is converted into a proton. After emitting a
beta particle the newly formed nuclide has its n/p value lower than its parent nuclide and
hence approach closer to the stability belt.
Example:
24 24 0
11Na13 12Mg12 + 1e
 2. The nuclei lying above the belt:
The nuclei lying above the stability belt are deficient in neutrons and hence disintegrate in
such a way that one of their proton is converted into a neutron. The conversion of proton into
neutron can be done by any of the following two ways:
 Emission of a Positron
1 1 0
1H 0n + 1e
24 23
Example: 12Mg 11 11Na 12 + 01e (positron)

 Electron capture process

1
1H + 0-1e (electron) 1
0n
194 0 194
Example: 79Au115 + -1e 78Pt116
3. Heavy nuclei
208 209
82Pb126 and 83Bi126 are the heaviest stable nuclei. Other nuclei having higher number of
protons or neutrons disintegrate by alpha or beta decay or by fission process.
Packing Fraction
Packing fraction is defined as a way of expressing the variation of isotopic mass from whole
mass number (atomic mass).
Isotopic mass−Mass Number
Packing Fraction = x 104
nucleons
M − A 4
f = x 10
𝑛+ 𝑝
This fraction can have positive or can have negative sign. A positive packing fraction describes
a tendency towards instability. A negative packing fraction means isotopic mass is less than actual
mass number. This difference is due to the transformation of mass into energy in the formation of
nucleus.
Binding energy per nucleon
Binding energy is the energy that holds a nucleus together and is equal to the mass defect of
the nucleus. Nuclear binding energy is the energy that would be required to disassemble the nucleus
of an atom into its component parts. These component parts are neutrons and protons, which are
collectively called nucleons. Let us calculate the binding energy of particle using the concept of mass
defect:
Mass of 2 protons + 2 neutrons =
= 4.031882
Mass of particle = 4.001506
Mass defect =
B.E. =
B.E. =
Binding energy per nucleon =
 The binding energy per nucleon and the mass number is plotted in the figure. We can see that
the curve rises steeply initially and then gradually reaches maximum of 8.79 MeV at A=56. This number
A=56 corresponds to Iron . The curve now drops very slowly to somewhere around 7.6 MeV at
the highest known mass number. From this graph we can say that nuclei of intermediate mass are
more stable since high amount of energy is required to separate these nucleons. This also means that
a large amount of energy will be liberated if heavier nuclei can be divided into lighter ones in nuclear
fission.
Nuclear shell model or Magic Numbers
Nuclear shell model accounts for many features of the nuclear energy levels. According to this
model, the motion of each nucleon is governed by the average attractive force of all the other
nucleons. The resulting orbits form "shells," just as the orbits of electrons in atoms do. As nucleons
are added to the nucleus, they drop into the lowest-energy shells permitted by the Pauli Principle
which requires that each nucleon have a unique set of quantum numbers to describe its motion When
a shell is full (that is, when the nucleons have used up all of the possible sets of quantum number
assignments), a nucleus of unusual stability forms. This concept is similar to that found in an atom
where a filled set of electron quantum numbers results in an atom with unusual stability–an inert gas.
When all the protons or neutrons in a nucleus are in filled shells, the number of protons or neutrons
is called a "magic number." Some of the magic numbers are 2, 8, 20, 28, 50, 82, and 126. For
example, 116Sn has a magic number of protons (50) and 54Fe has a magic number of neutrons (28).
Some nuclei, for example 40Ca and 208Pb, have magic numbers of both protons and neutrons; these
nuclei have exceptional stability and are called "doubly magic." Magic numbers are indicated on the
chart of the nuclides.
Reference:
 Guide to the nuclear wallchart: http://www2.lbl.gov/abc/wallchart/chapters/06/1.html
 Modern nuclear chemistry by Walter D. Loveland and co, A John Wiley and sons., publications
 https://chem.libretexts.org › ... › 19: Nuclear Chemistry