Mercury Electronic Configuration(Explained for Beginners)

by

Mercury (Hg) is the periodic table’s 80th element. It belongs to period 6 and group 12. Let us look at some facts about the electronic configuration of the mercury atom.

Mercury has the electronic configuration 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 3d10 4s2 4p6 4d10 5s2 5p6 4f14 5d10 6s2 . It is a hard, silvery d-block element, and is the only metallic element known to be liquid under standard temperature and pressure conditions. Its freezing point is -38.83°C and its boiling point is 356.73°C.

Let us see some fascinating facts about Hg’s electron density and distribution.

How to write mercury electronic configuration?

Hg has an atomic number of 80, which corresponds to the number of electrons it contains. A set of rules describes the electronic structure. These are listed below:

  • All electron-filled atomic orbitals follow the Aufbau principle, which follows the (n+l) rule, where n = principal quantum number (refers to 1,2, etc.) and l = azimuthal quantum number (refers to s,p etc.). The energy order for Hg is 1s<2s<2p<3s<3p<3d<4s<4p<4d<5s<5p<4f<5d<6s.
  • According to Pauli’s exclusion principle, an orbital with different spins comprises only two electrons. For example, an s-orbital can hold 2 electrons, a p-orbital can hold 6 electrons, and a d-orbital can hold 10 electrons. In the arrangement of the ordered orbitals, the electrons should be noted as superscripts.
  • According to Hund’s rule, each orbital of the “sub-level” must be filled before pairing electrons. The resulting electronic configuration is as follows: 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 3d10 4s2 4p6 4d10 5s2 5p6 4f14 5d10 6s2

Mercury electronic configuration diagram

The Hg atom has 80 electrons, the lowest energy orbital being filled first, followed by the remaining orbitals.

hg pic logo
Electronic configuration diagram of Hg

Mercury electronic configuration notation

Hg electronic configuration notation is represented as-

[Xe] 4f14 5d10 6s2

It has a Xe core, so use [Xe] instead of 54 electrons in electronic configuration notation, and the remaining electrons are distributed among 4f, 5d, and 6s orbitals.

Mercury unabbreviated electronic configuration

Hg unabbreviated electronic configuration is,

1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 3d10 4s2 4p6 4d10 5s2 5p6 4f14 5d10 6s2

Ground state mercury electronic configuration

The Hg ground state electronic configuration is 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 3d10 4s2 4p6 4d10 5s2 5p6 4f14 5d10 6s2.

Mercury w l
Mercury ground state electronic configuration

Excited state of mercury electronic configuration

Hg does not exist in an excited state as it has completely filled s and p orbitals, making it chemically inert and highly stable.

Ground state mercury orbital diagram

According to quantum number, the Hg ground state orbital diagram has 80 electrons per shell around the nucleus, and it takes 5 shells to arrange those 80 electrons, which are,

  • K-shell = two electrons (1s2)
  • L-shell = a shell with 8 electrons (2s2 2p6)
  • M-shell = a shell with 18 electrons (3s2 3p6 3d10)
  • N-shell = a shell with 32 electrons (4s2 4p6 4d10 4f14)
  • O-shell = a shell with 18 electrons (5s2 5p6 5d10)
  • P-shell = a shell with two electrons (6s2)
hg logo nwww
Mercury orbital diagram

Mercury 2+ electronic configuration

The electronic configuration of Hg2+ is 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 3d10 4s2 4p6 4d10 5s2 5p6 4f14 5d10 6s0. Since it is Hg2+, it has to release two electrons. By taking two electrons from 6s2, it will result in 6s0.

Mercury condensed electronic configuration

The condensed electronic configuration of Hg is [Xe] 4f14 5d10 6s2. In the condensed electronic configuration, apply [Xe] instead of 54 electrons, and the remaining electrons are distributed among the 4f, 5d, and 6s orbitals.

Conclusion

Hg does not react with most acids, including dilute sulfuric acid. Many metals dissolve in mercury to form amalgams, including gold and silver. The electronic configuration notation for Mercury is [Xe] 4f14 5d10 6s2 and does not have excited state.

Also Read: