Praseodymium Electron Configuration(Explained for Beginners)

The organization of electrons in the atomic orbitals of an element is called its electron configuration.  Let us observe below the electron configuration of Praseodymium (Pr).

The electronic configuration of Praseodymium is [Xe]⁵⁴4f³6s². It is a yellowish metal with a soft and malleable texture.  The metal has an atomic number of 59.  It is a rare-earth metal and belongs to the Lanthanide series of the periodic table.  A green oxide coating appears when it is exposed to air.

Praseodymium electron configuration will be discussed in this article by considering the rules followed for electron filling in the orbitals, the orbital diagram and more about the element.

How to write praseodymium electron configuration

The electron configuration of praseodymium is 1s²2s²2p⁶3s²3p⁶3d¹⁰4s²4p⁶4d¹⁰5s²5p⁶4f³5d⁰6s²,which is written using the following steps.

• Step 1: Noting down the shell number is the primary step
• Praseodymium contains six electronic shells (1,2,3,4,5 and 6)
• Step 2: Specifying the orbitals is marked as the next step
• The orbitals or subshells that carry an atom’s electrons are s, p, d and f having maximum capacity of electrons 2, 6, 10 and 14, respectively.
• The orbitals are represented as 1s 2s 2p 3s 3p 3d 4s 4p 4f
• Step 3: The Aufbau principle is the guiding principle for filling the orbitals.
• The electrons are filled from lower energy level to higher according to their maximum capacity, and are shown as subscripts.
• The f orbital is partially filled, while all other orbitals are perfectly filled.
• Thus the final electron configuration of praseodymium is:
• 1s²2s²2p⁶3s²3p⁶3d¹⁰4s²4p⁶4d¹⁰5s²5p⁶4f³5d⁰6s²

Praseodymium electron configuration diagram

Using the Aufbau principle, the electron configuration of praseodymium 1s²2s²2p⁶3s²3p⁶3d¹⁰4s²4p⁶4d¹⁰5s²5p⁶4f³5d⁰6s² is expressed in the diagram.

Praseodymium electron configuration notation

The electronic configuration notation of Pr is [Xe]⁵⁴4f³6s^2..

Praseodymium unabbreviated electron configuration

The unabbreviated configuration of Pr is 1s²2s²2p⁶3s²3p⁶3d¹⁰4s²4p⁶4d¹⁰5s²5p⁶4f³5d⁰6s²

Ground state praseodymium electron configuration

The ground state electronic configuration of Pr is [Xe]⁵⁴4f³6s².

Excited state of praseodymium electron configuration

[Xe]⁵⁴4f³6s¹ is exhibited as the electronic configuration of Pr in the excited state. 

Ground state praseodymium orbital diagram

1s²2s²2p⁶3s²3p⁶3d¹⁰4s²4p⁶4d¹⁰5s²5p⁶4f³5d⁰6s² is the ground state electronic configuration of Pr. The following consecutive steps are followed for the representation of the orbital diagram.

• The circles represent the shell numbers starting from 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 upto 6.
• The first shell from the nucleus is the K shell, the second is L, and the third is M and so forth.
• The innermost shell has 2 electrons, followed by filling of 8, 18, 21, 8 and 2 electrons in the shells one after the other.
• The s, p and d orbitals are completely occupied, i.e., they hold electrons according to their maximum capacity whereas the f orbital is incompletely filled with only three electrons.

Conclusion

The discussion concludes that Pr has atomic number 59, and the Aufbau principle guides the filling of electrons in the orbitals.  The s, p, and d orbitals are entirely occupied, while the 4f orbitals have occupancy of three electrons.

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