biostudies-literatureKajan ISwissnuclear19788https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC8492754biostudies-literatureUnknown11(1)This work presents the first direct measurement of the ⁹³Mo half-life. The measurement is a combination of high-resolution mass spectrometry for the determination of the ⁹³Mo concentration and liquid scintillation counting for determining the specific activity. A ⁹³Mo sample of high purity was obtained from proton irradiated niobium by chemical separation of molybdenum with a decontamination factor larger than 1.6 × 10¹⁴ with respect to Nb. The half-life of ⁹³Mo was deduced to be 4839(63) years, which is more than 20% longer than the currently adopted value, whereas the relative uncertainty could be reduced by a factor of 15. The probability that the ⁹³Mo decays to the metastable state ^93mNb was determined to be 9Scientific reportsFirst direct determination of the ⁹³Mo half-life.PMC8492754WIR-2Sprung PSchumann DKossert KKajan IHeinitz SDressler RfalseFirst direct determination of the ⁹³Mo half-life.This work presents the first direct measurement of the ⁹³Mo half-life. The measurement is a combination of high-resolution mass spectrometry for the determination of the ⁹³Mo concentration and liquid scintillation counting for determining the specific activity. A ⁹³Mo sample of high purity was obtained from proton irradiated niobium by chemical separation of molybdenum with a decontamination factor larger than 1.6 × 10¹⁴ with respect to Nb. The half-life of ⁹³Mo was deduced to be 4839(63) years, which is more than 20% longer than the currently adopted value, whereas the relative uncertainty could be reduced by a factor of 15. The probability that the ⁹³Mo decays to the metastable state ^93mNb was determined to be 92021-01-01T00:00:00Z2021 Oct2025-04-21T14:49:53.027Z2022-02-11T11:58:33.361ZS-EPMC84927543461124510.1038/s41598-021-99253-5