deuterium

Also known as H-2, hydrogen-2, 2H, Heavy hydrogen, D, 重水素, ²H

Deuterium (hydrogen-2, symbol H or D, also known as heavy hydrogen) is one of two stable isotopes of hydrogen; the other is protium, or hydrogen-1, H. The deuterium nucleus (deuteron) contains one proton and one neutron, whereas the far more common H has no neutrons.

AI overview

Deuterium is a heavier form of hydrogen that contains an extra neutron in its nucleus, making it roughly twice as heavy as ordinary hydrogen. Although deuterium is much rarer than regular hydrogen, it occurs naturally and is one of only two stable forms of hydrogen found in nature.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Key facts

Isotope.image: Deuterium discharge tube.jpg
Isotope.image_caption: Deuterium glowing in a gas discharge tube
Isotope.name: Deuterium
Isotope.alternate_names: hydrogen-2
Isotope.mass_number: 2
Isotope.symbol: H
Isotope.num_neutrons: 1
Isotope.num_protons: 1
Isotope.abundance: 0.0156% (Earth)
Isotope.mass: 2.0141017778
Isotope.spin: 1+
Isotope.halflife: stable

via Wikipedia infobox

Research

29,603 papers

Deuterium and its impact on living organisms.ReviewFolia microbiologica · 2019Kselíková V, Vítová M, Bišová KDOI: 10.1007/s12223-019-00740-0
Deuterium metabolic imaging - Back to the future.ReviewJournal of magnetic resonance (San Diego, Calif. : 1997) · 2021De Feyter HM, de Graaf RADOI: 10.1016/j.jmr.2021.106932
Applications of Deuterium in Medicinal Chemistry.ReviewJournal of medicinal chemistry · 2019Pirali T, Serafini M, Cargnin S et al.DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.8b01808
Luminescence enhancement by deuterium.ReviewJournal of labelled compounds & radiopharmaceuticals · 2023Filer CNDOI: 10.1002/jlcr.4056
Application of deuterium in research and development of drugs.ReviewEuropean journal of medicinal chemistry · 2025Chen J, Zhu YY, Huang L et al.DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2025.117371
Emerging Role of Deuterium/Protium Disbalance in Cell Cycle and Apoptosis.ReviewInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2023Yaglova NV, Timokhina EP, Obernikhin SS et al.DOI: 10.3390/ijms24043107
Deuterium isotope effects on noncovalent interactions between molecules.ReviewChemico-biological interactions · 1999Wade DDOI: 10.1016/s0009-2797(98)00097-0
Explaining deuterium-depleted water as a cancer therapy: a narrative review.ReviewEuropean journal of cancer prevention : the official journal of the European Cancer Prevention Organisation (ECP) · 2026Kyriakopoulos AM, Seneff SDOI: 10.1097/CEJ.0000000000000953

via PubMed

Wikidata facts

Mass: 2.01410177811
Image: Deuterium-glow.jpg

Show 13 more facts

time of discovery or invention: 1931-01-01
element symbol: D
neutron number: 1
Commons category: Deuterium
atomic number: 1
natural abundance: 0.000115
binding energy: 2224.566
spin quantum number: 1
parity quantum number: 1
mass excess: 13135.72176
melting point: -254.43
boiling point: -249.58
isomeric SMILES: [2H]

Sources (11)

via Wikidata · CC0

~41 min read

Article

38 sections

Contents

Differences from common hydrogen (protium)
Chemical symbol
Spectroscopy
Big Bang nucleosynthesis
Abundance
Production
Properties
Data for molecular deuterium
Physical properties
Quantum properties
Nuclear properties (deuteron)
Deuteron mass and radius
Spin and energy
Isospin singlet state of the deuteron
Approximated wavefunction of the deuteron
Magnetic and electric multipoles
Applications
Nuclear reactors
NMR spectroscopy
Mass spectrometry
Tracing
Contrast properties
Nuclear weapons
Drugs
Reinforced essential nutrients
Thermostabilization
Slowing circadian oscillations
History
Before the search
Deuterium detected
Naming of the isotope and Nobel Prize
"Heavy water" experiments in World War II
In thermonuclear weapons
Modern research
Antideuterium and the antideuteron
See also
References
External links

The name deuterium comes from Greek deuteros, meaning "second". American chemist Harold Urey discovered deuterium in 1931. Urey and others produced samples of heavy water in which the H had been highly concentrated. The discovery of deuterium won Urey a Nobel Prize in 1934.