Question

Will two isotopes react differently?

Answer 1

Conventionally no

Explanation:

Chemists refer more to electron movement when describing chemical properties (and this electron movement is governed more by protons and electrons).

However, neutrons can have a big impact when it comes to radioactivity. Radioactive isotopes are when an atoms nucleus is not stable and thus decays.

Answer 2

Only really noticably in the case of isotopes of hydrogen.

Explanation:

For most elements the effect of different isotopes is too small to matter. In the case of hydrogen, we find that deuterium (`""^2H`) does behave significantly differently from protium (`""^1H`). It forms slightly stronger hydrogen bonds, affecting the function of enzymes.