How do we order the following,considering their stability when they are in (+3) oxidation state?
Al
Ga
Tl
Sc
We've been taught that (+3) is the common oxidation state of Sc.
And when it comes to Al ,Ha,Tl how do we order them?
The best advice I can give is to use the activity series to order the reactivity (more reactive would mean less stable). You can Google activity series. However, many of the tables are abbreviated and will not list Ga, Tl and Sc so you may need to look at several to find a table that includes those. If you can't find one, then look up the oxidation potential of each. Sometimes that is hard to find, too, so you look up the reduction table; i.e., Tl^+ + e ==> Tl and reverse the sign of the voltage generated. The higher the oxidation potential the more active the metal and the less stable. In fact, the activity series actually is an oxidation potential table. Let me know if you have any problems.
Seems I will have to do some (research) :-D
Thank you very much and sure I'll post again if I come up with problems regarding this.
To order the elements based on their stability when they are in the +3 oxidation state, you need to consider their electron configurations and atomic properties.
1. Start by looking at the periodic table and locating the elements Al, Ga, Tl, and Sc.
2. Consider the electron configuration of each element in their +3 oxidation state:
- Scandium (Sc): The electron configuration of Sc in the +3 oxidation state is [Ar] 3d^0 4s^2.
- Aluminum (Al): The electron configuration of Al in the +3 oxidation state is [Ne] 3s^2 3p^1.
- Gallium (Ga): The electron configuration of Ga in the +3 oxidation state is [Ar] 3d^10 4s^2 4p^1.
- Thallium (Tl): The electron configuration of Tl in the +3 oxidation state is [Xe] 4f^14 5d^10 6s^2 6p^1.
3. Analyze the atomic properties:
- As you mentioned, Scandium (Sc) commonly has an oxidation state of +3. It has a stable electron configuration with a filled 3d and 4s subshell.
- Aluminum (Al) has a stable electron configuration by losing its 3p^1 electron in the +3 oxidation state.
- Gallium (Ga) has a similar electron configuration to Scandium (Sc) and Aluminum (Al) with a filled 3d and 4s subshell, making it stable in the +3 oxidation state.
- Thallium (Tl) has a more complex electron configuration and is further down the periodic table. It has a partially filled 5d and 6s subshell, which may make it less stable in the +3 oxidation state compared to Sc, Al, and Ga.
Based on the analysis above, the order of stability for these elements in the +3 oxidation state is:
Sc > Ga > Al > Tl