Electron Configuration

[melissa_dis4K]

For the electron configuration of Pd I get [Kr]4d^8 5s^2 but it is [Kr] 4d^10. My question is do we change it to [Kr] 4d^10 because we should fill in the entire d orbital before continuing to the 5s orbital? Is this always?

[Andreana Vetus 1A]

Yes, as the electron will be happier with a full d orbital vs an s orbital. This is always.

[Albert_Luu3K]

Very interesting, Melissa. I googled this phenomenon, and it says that this is the electron configuration because experiment has shown. Our usual methods don't apply to this Pd because it's an exception due to what has been found in experiment. I doubt this we will need to know this. We'll only need to know the first row of 3d elements.

[Lydia Luong 4L]

Yes, I think it should be [Kr]4d^10

[Carlos Gomez 3H]

Does this mean that Pd is another exception along with Cu and Cr?

[Richard Ku 4H]

Yes, because the atom would be more stable if the entire of an orbital is filled out rather than partially filled.

[Josceline 3J]

Also, you should take into account that it is 4d^8 and that is always full so it will do anything to get full, hence reach stability. And yeah also because the 4d orbital needs to get filled before the 5s

[Jack Hewitt 2H]

For the electron configuration of Pd I get [Kr]4d^8 5s^2 but it is [Kr] 4d^10. My question is do we change it to [Kr] 4d^10 because we should fill in the entire d orbital before continuing to the 5s orbital? Is this always?

Yes this is always. It is one of the exceptions to the octet rule.

[Zachary Menz 1D]

As others have said, this is an exception to the normal rules of electron configurations. As Dr. Lavelle said in class, the reasons behind this involve the fact that as the principal quantum number (n) increases, orbitals get closer and closer together. By the time that n=5, such as in your case, exceptions can more easily arise because of potential overlaps.

[Daniel Kim 1D]

This might be one of the elements such as Cu and Cr that has been proven by experimental methods. Rather than trying to solve it out, probably one of the ones that should be memorized. However, professor Lavelle said we should only memorize Cu and Cr so we shouldn’t be too worried about that I’m pretty sure.