Plutonium-241

Plutonium-241, 241Pu
General
Symbol241Pu
Namesplutonium-241, 241Pu, Pu-241
Protons (Z)94
Neutrons (N)147
Nuclide data
Natural abundance0 (Artificial)
Half-life (t1/2)14 years
Isotope mass241.057 Da
Decay products241Am
237U
Decay modes
Decay modeDecay energy (MeV)
β−0.02078(17)[1]
α5.055(5)[1]
Isotopes of plutonium
Complete table of nuclides

Plutonium-241 (241Pu or Pu-241) is an isotope of plutonium formed when plutonium-240 captures a neutron. Like some other plutonium isotopes (especially 239Pu), 241Pu is fissile, with a neutron absorption cross section about one-third greater than that of 239Pu, and a similar probability of fissioning on neutron absorption, around 73%. In the non-fission case, neutron capture produces plutonium-242. In general, isotopes with an odd number of neutrons are both more likely to absorb a neutron and more likely to undergo fission on neutron absorption than isotopes with an even number of neutrons.

  1. ^ a b Basunia, M. S. (1 August 2006). "Nuclear Data Sheets for A = 237". Nuclear Data Sheets. 107 (8): 2323–2422. doi:10.1016/j.nds.2006.07.001.