Zinc Electron Configuration:7 Easy Step-by-Step Guide

Zinc represents the symbol Zn in the periodic table. Let us discuss about electronic configuration of zinc in this article.

The electronic configuration of zinc is 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p⁶ 4s² 3d¹⁰. Electrons are distributed among the shells K, L, M, and N. Zn is the 12 ^th group element and one of the transition metals in the periodic table.

We will discuss several facts about zinc electron configuration, zinc electron configuration diagram, electron configuration notation, unabbreviated electron configuration, ground state and excited state electron configuration.

How to write zinc electron configuration

The electronic configuration of Zn is written using 3 important rules as given below

• According to the Aufbau principle, the lowest energy orbit 4s filled first, and then the highest energy orbit 3d filled.

• According to Hund’s rule, the first 2 electrons will be paired in 1s orbital before filling other orbitals.

• According to the Pauli-Exclusion principle, more than two electrons do not occupy the same orbitals and are in an opposite spin.

• Thus the electronic configuration of Zn is [Ar] 3d¹⁰ 4s² or 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p⁶ 4s² 3d¹⁰

Zinc electron configuration diagram

The electronic configuration of Zn is 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p⁶ 4s² 3d¹⁰ and is represented below, where

• In s orbital 2 electrons accommodate

• In the p orbital, 6 electrons accommodate

• In the d orbital, 10 electrons accommodate

• So, there are no unpaired electrons in Zn atom’s s,p, and d subshells.

Zinc electron configuration notation

The electron configuration notation of the Zn atom is [Ar] 3d¹⁰ 4s²

Zinc unabbreviated electron configuration

Unabbreviated electron configuration of Zinc is 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p⁶ 4s² 3d¹⁰

Ground state zinc electron configuration

The ground state electron configuration of Zn is 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p⁶ 4s² 3d¹⁰

Excited state of zinc electron configuration

Excited state electron configuration of Zn is 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p⁶ 4s¹ 3d¹⁰ 4p¹, which is also written as [Ar] 3d¹⁰ 4s¹ 4p¹, where electrons in 4s orbit jumps into higher energy orbit 4p.

Ground state zinc orbital diagram

The ground state electron configuration of Zn is [Ar] 3d¹⁰ 4s². The orbital diagram is drawn below, which represents the electrons filled in the orbitals as listed below,

• Maximum holding capacity of electrons in the first shell is 2 and the minimum energy is filled in 1s orbital.

• After 1 ^st shell, second shell is filled with 8 electrons.

• The, the third shell is filled with 18 electrons.

• Lastly, the remaining 2 electrons are filled in the 4th shell.

Zinc 2+ electron configuration

Zn ²⁺ electron configuration is 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p⁶ 3d¹⁰ or [Ar] 3d¹⁰

Zinc condensed electron configuration

The condensed electron configuration of Zn is [Ar] 3d¹⁰ 4s² where Zn follows noble gas Ar.

Conclusion

Zinc is a d-block element with an atomic number of 30. Zn can be low melting metal and is essential to life and is one of the most frequently used metals in the periodic table.

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• Electron configuration
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