Fluorine-18
Decay over 24 hours | |
| General | |
|---|---|
| Symbol | 18F |
| Names | fluorine-18, Fluorine-18 |
| Protons (Z) | 9 |
| Neutrons (N) | 9 |
| Nuclide data | |
| Natural abundance | Radioisotope |
| Half-life (t1/2) | 109.734 min |
| Isotope mass | 18.0009380 Da |
| Spin | 1+ |
| Excess energy | 873.431±0.593 keV |
| Nuclear binding energy | 137369.199±0.593 keV |
| Decay products | 18O |
| Decay modes | |
| Decay mode | Decay energy (MeV) |
| Positron emission (97%) | 0.6335 |
| Electron capture (3%) | 1.6555 |
| Isotopes of fluorine Complete table of nuclides | |
Fluorine-18 (18F, also called radiofluorine) is a fluorine radioisotope which is an important source of positrons. Its half-life is 109.734 minutes, less than two hours, and one of the shortest of radioisotopes with use outside research. It decays by positron emission 96.7% of the time and electron capture 3.3% of the time. Both modes of decay yield stable oxygen-18.