The electron configuration of U4+ ion
The electron configuration of the U4+ ion can be determined by removing 4 electrons from the neutral uranium atom (U).
The electron configuration of neutral uranium (U) is 1s^2 2s^2 2p^6 3s^2 3p^6 4s^2 3d^10 4p^6 5s^2 4d^10 5p^6 6s^2 4f^14 5d^10 6p^6 7s^2 5f^3 6d^1.
To form the U4+ ion, four electrons are removed, starting from the outermost energy level.
1s^2 2s^2 2p^6 3s^2 3p^6 4s^2 3d^10 4p^6 5s^2 4d^10 5p^6 6s^2 4f^14 5d^10 6p^6 7s^2 5f^3 6d^1 - 4e-
The resulting electron configuration of the U4+ ion is 1s^2 2s^2 2p^6 3s^2 3p^6 3d^10 4s^2 3d^10 4p^6 5s^2 4d^10 5p^6 4d^10 5p^6 6s^2 4f^14 5d^10 6p^6 7s^2 5f^3.
Use condensed electron configuration to write an equation for the formation of each transition metal ion, and predict whether it is paramagnetic;
a) U4+ (z=92)
b)Hg2+ (z=80)
c) La3+ (z=57)
d)Os3+ (z=76)
a) The electron configuration of uranium (U) is [Rn]5f^3 6d^1 7s^2. To form U4+, 4 electrons are removed:
U: [Rn]5f^3 6d^1 7s^2
U4+: [Rn]5f^3 6d^0
The condensed electron configuration for U4+ is [Rn]5f^3. Since there are unpaired electrons in the 5f orbital, U4+ is paramagnetic.
b) The electron configuration of mercury (Hg) is [Xe]4f^14 5d^10 6s^2. To form Hg2+, 2 electrons are removed:
Hg: [Xe]4f^14 5d^10 6s^2
Hg2+: [Xe]4f^14 5d^10
The condensed electron configuration for Hg2+ is [Xe]4f^14 5d^10. Since all the orbitals are filled and there are no unpaired electrons, Hg2+ is diamagnetic (not paramagnetic).
c) The electron configuration of lanthanum (La) is [Xe]5d^1 6s^2. To form La3+, 3 electrons are removed:
La: [Xe]5d^1 6s^2
La3+: [Xe]5d^0 6s^0
The condensed electron configuration for La3+ is [Xe]5d^0 6s^0. Since all the orbitals are filled and there are no unpaired electrons, La3+ is diamagnetic.
d) The electron configuration of osmium (Os) is [Xe]4f^14 5d^6 6s^2. To form Os3+, 3 electrons are removed:
Os: [Xe]4f^14 5d^6 6s^2
Os3+: [Xe]4f^14 5d^5
The condensed electron configuration for Os3+ is [Xe]4f^14 5d^5. Since there are unpaired electrons in the 5d orbital, Os3+ is paramagnetic.
To determine the electron configuration of U4+ ion (Uranium in its +4 oxidation state), we need to identify the number of electrons present and then distribute them according to the Aufbau principle and the Pauli exclusion principle.
Uranium (U) has an atomic number of 92, meaning an uncharged uranium atom has 92 electrons. However, since the U4+ ion has a charge of 4+, we need to remove four electrons from the neutral uranium atom.
The electron configuration of a neutral uranium atom (U) is: 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 4s2 3d10 4p6 5s2 4d10 5p6 6s2 4f14 5d10 6p6 7s2 5f3 6d1.
Now, when removing four electrons, we subtract them from the highest energy levels first. In this case, we start removing from the 7s orbital.
1. Remove one electron from the 7s orbital: 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 4s2 3d10 4p6 5s2 4d10 5p6 6s2 4f14 5d10 6p6 7s1 5f3 6d1.
2. Remove two electrons from the 5f orbital: 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 4s2 3d10 4p6 5s2 4d10 5p6 6s2 4f14 5d10 6p6 7s1 5f1 6d1.
3. Remove one more electron from the 5f orbital: 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 4s2 3d10 4p6 5s2 4d10 5p6 6s2 4f14 5d10 6p6 7s1 5f0 6d1.
So, the electron configuration of U4+ ion is: 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 4s2 3d10 4p6 5s2 4d10 5p6 6s2 4f14 5d10 6p6 7s1 5f0 6d1.