Page 1 of 1

Filling d orbital with s electrons

Posted: Sun Oct 20, 2019 1:59 pm
by Victoria Li 1L
I understand that, in the case of elements like copper and silver, the s orbital electrons will donate an electron to the d orbital to achieve a full orbital. But I was wondering, why does this happen? Is a full d orbital more stable than an unfilled s orbital?

Re: Filling d orbital with s electrons

Posted: Sun Oct 20, 2019 3:03 pm
by Chem_Mod
You answered your own question! A completely filled (e.g. Cu, Ag, Au) or half-filled (e.g. Cr) d subshell is more stable than having an filled s subshell and a d subshell with 4 or 9 electrons.