Uranium Electron Configuration:7 (Easy Step-by-Step Guide)

Uranium is a naturally radioactive element of the actinoid series, placed in the f-block element. Let us explore its electron configuration of it.

The electron configuration of uranium is [Rn] 5f3 6d1 7s2. Its shell structure consists of 2,8,18,32,21,9,2. The chemical symbol of the uranium atom is “U,” having atomic number 92.

Let us discuss the steps to write the electron configuration of the U atom, condensed electron configuration and electron configuration of the U atom in its ground and excited state.

How to write uranium electron configuration?

Below are the steps to write the uranium atom’s electron configuration.

  • U atom has 92 electrons which have a total of 7 electronic shells which are given as K, L, M, N, O, P and Q shells.
  • These shells are subdivided into different orbitals such as s, p, d and f shells which have the maximum number of 2, 4, 10 and 14 electrons respectively.
  • To fill the electrons in the shells, we must follow three basic principles Aufbau principle, Pauli’s principle and Hund’s rule.
  • In the K shell, the first 2 electrons enter the 1s orbital of the U atom.
  • Secondly, in the 2nd orbit, a maximum of 8 electrons enter into the 2s and 2p orbital.
  • In the M shell, 18 electrons enter into 3s, 3p and 3d orbital.
  • The next 32 electrons are filled into the N shell’s 4s, 4p and 4f orbitals.
  • After filling the N shell, 21 electrons are placed into the 5th orbit. 2, 6, 10 and 3 electrons will be filled into 5s, 5p, 5d and 5f orbitals.
  • The P shell orbit contains 9 electrons in the 6s, 6p and 6d orbitals and the 2 electrons enter into the 7s orbital of the Q shell.
  • The energy of 6s orbital is less than that of 4f. Therefore, the 6s orbital must fill first, and then the electrons will enter the 4f orbital.
  • The electron configuration of the U atom is written as 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 4s2 3d10 4p6 5s2 4d10 5p6 6s2 4f14 5d10 6p6 5f3 6d1 7s2.

Uranium electron configuration diagram

The electron configuration diagram for the U atom is given below.

Uranium electron configuration
Uranium electron configuration

Uranium electron configuration notation

The U electron configuration is [Rn] 5f3 6d1 7s2.

Uranium unabbreviated electron configuration

The unabbreviated electron configuration of U atom is 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 4s2 3d10 4p6 5s2 4d10 5p6 6s2 4f14 5d10 6p6 5f3 6d1 7s2.

Ground state uranium electron configuration

The ground state electron configuration of the U atom is [Rn] 5f3 6d1 7s2.

Excited state of uranium electron configuration

The electron configuration of the U atom in its excited state will be [Rn] 5f3 7p1 7s2. During excitation, the electron present in the 6d will be promoted to its next higher energy level, 7p orbitals.

Ground state uranium orbital diagram

The ground state electron configuration of the U atom is 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 4s2 3d10 4p6 5s2 4d10 5p6 6s2 4f14 5d10 6p6 5f3 6d1 7s2. The orbital diagram of the U atom in the ground state is given below.

  • The filling of the electrons starts from the 1s orbital, which has lower energy than 2s, 2p, 3s and so on.
  • The electrons are filled based on the Aufbau principle, Pauli’s principle and Hund’s rule.
Orbital diagram of uranium in the ground state
Orbital diagram of uranium in the ground state

Uranium 6+ electron configuration

The electron configuration of U6+ will be 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 4s2 3d10 4p6 5s2 4d10 5p6 6s2 4f14 5d10 6p6.  Here, 6 electrons are removed from the last orbital of the uranium atom.

Uranium condensed electron configuration

The condensed electron configuration of the U atom is written as [Rn] 5f3 6d1 7s2.

Conclusion:

The most common natural isotopes of uranium are U-235 and U-238. It is the heaviest naturally occurring element. Due to the instability of all its isotopes, it is weakly radioactive.

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