electron configuration of Sn4+

[juliaddc]

During Dr. Lavelle's review session today, he went over electron configurations, Sn4+ being one of them. The final answer he gave was [Kr]4d^10, I don't remember if he explained it or I just didn't catch it, but why is it not [Kr]5s^2 4d^8?

[Evangelina_0ca]

Hello,

Here electrons are removed forms he outermost shell first. The 5s and 5p orbitals are higher in energy than the 4d orbitals, so electrons are taken from the 5S2 and 5p6 before the 4d orbitals. The electron configuration of Tin is [Kr]5s^24d^105p^2. Now, when Tin lose four electrons to from Sn4+, the electrons are removed from the outermost shells. Therefore, resulting in the electron configuration [Kr]4d10.\
Hope this helps!