QUANTUM MODEL OF AN ATOM

By , Lakshya Prashant and Sahil

Quantum Mechanics
In the quantum model, the nucleus is not surrounded by orbits, but by atomic orbital Atomic Orbital: a 3-d (three dimensional) region about the nucleus where a certain electron can be located These orbital can be thought of as clouds The size and shape of the electron clouds depend on the occupying electrons energies

Quantum Numbers specify the properties of atomic orbital and their electrons There are four quantum numbers: principal quantum number orbital quantum number magnetic quantum number spin quantum number

The principal quantum number (n)

It specifies the main energy levels around the nucleus As n increases, the distance from the nucleus increases Currently the values for n are 1 to 7

Orbital Quantum Number (l)

It indicates the shape of the orbital where the electron can be found These orbitals are called subshells or sublevels The four most common orbital quantum numbers are given letter abbreviations

l values range from 0 to (n-1) Orbital Quantum Numbers: l = 0, s orbital l = 1, p orbital l = 2, d orbital l = 3, f orbital

n 1 2 2 3 3 3 4 4 4 4

l 0 0 1 0 1 2 0 1 2 3

Subshell Notation 1s 2s 2p 3s 3p 3d 4s 4p 4d 4f

Magnetic Quantum Number (M l)

Indicates

the orientation of an orbital about the nucleus

It tells which axis that sublevel is located on (x, y, or z axis) ml ranges from - l to l For any subshell 2l + 1 values of ml are possible

s orbital

As the value of l is 0 here therefore ml =0 and 2(0)+1=1 s orbital

p orbital

Since the value of l is 1 here therefore the value of ml=2(1)+1=3 p orbitals

d orbital

Here the value of l=2 therefore ml= 2(2)+1= 5 d orbitals

f orbital Here ml= 2(3) +1 = 7 f orbitals

Spin Quantum Number (Ms):

It indicates the two possible states of an electron Values are + 1/2 or 1/2

Shell n value

subshell

ml orbitals no. of orbitals (n2) 1 2 2 4

Max no e- (2n2)

spin

Value notation ( 2l +1)

K L

1 2

0 0 1

1s 2s 2p 3s 3p 3d

0 0 -1, 0,1 0 -1, 0,1 -2,-1,0,1,2

+1/2 -1/2

8 6 2 6 18 10

+1/2 -1/2

0 1 2

+1/2 -1/2

Energies of Orbitals
For mono electronic atom The energy of electron depends only on the positively charged nucleus and the negatively charged electron. Therefore the energy of orbitals only depend on the principal quantum number and hence the energies of orbitals increases as follows: 1s<2s=2p<3s=3p=3d<4s=4p=4d=4f<..
3s 3p 3d

_ ___ _____

energy

_ ___ 2s 2p

_ 1s

Energies of orbitals
For multi-electronic atoms The energy of orbitals of a multi-electron atom is determined by the principal quantum number and by the azimuthal quantum number. There are different energies of the subshells because there is attraction between the electron and the nucleus as well as repulsion among the other electrons present in the atom

_ 4s

_____ 3d

___ 3p

energy

_ 3s ___ 2p _ 2s

_ 1s

Lowest energy is determined by the n + l rule. That is, the sum of those two quantum numbers determines the lowest energy, the lower the sum the lower the energy. If the sums are equal (the orbitals are called degenerate), the lowest value of n determines the lowest energy.

n+l

1+0=1 2+0=2 2+1=3 3+0=3

1s 2s 2p 3s

there is a tie, the 2p is lower than the 3s because n=2 is less than n=3

3+1=4 3+2=5 4+1=5 4+0=4

3p 3d 4p 4s

there are 2 ties, the 4s is higher than the 3p because n=4 is GREATER than n=3 and the 4s (sum = 4) comes before the 3d (sum = 5)

The order is: 1s< 2s< 2p< 3s< 3p< 4s< 3d,< 4p< 5s< 4d<

Filling of orbitals
To fill the orbitals of an atom there are certain set of rules which have to be followed Aufbau principle :- (means building-up in German) in the ground state, the electrons will fill the atomic orbital of lowest energy.

ORDER OF FILLING ENERGY LEVELS

The diagram explains that the orbital having the lowest energy is filled first and then the electrons are filled in the other orbital.

The arrows mark the filling of orbitals in their increasing order of energy.

1s 2s 3s

2p 3p

Pauli Exclusion Principle :No two electrons in the same atom can have the same set of all 4 quantum numbers. Only two electrons may exist in the same orbital and these electrons must have opposite spin. This helped in formulating a new formula for calculating the no. of electrons in a shell is 2n2

Hunds rule of maximum multiplicity :Electrons occupy all the orbitals of a given sublevel singly before pairing begins. Spins of electrons in different incomplete orbitals are parallel in the ground state. The most stable arrangement of electrons in the subshells is the one with the greatest number of parallel spins.

Diagram of hunds rule

-1/2

2px

2py +1/2

2pz

Electron configurations the ground state

Element 1H 2He 3Li 4Be 5B 6C 7N Electron configuration 1s1 1s2 1s22s1 1s22s2 1s22s22p1 1s22s22p2 1s22s22p3

8O 9F 1 Ne 0 1 Na 1 1 Mg 2 1 Al 3 1 Si 4 1 P 5 1 S 6 1 Cl 7 1 Ar 8

1s22s22p4 1s22s22p5 1s22s22p6 1s22s22p63s1 1s22s22p63s2 1s22s22p63s23p1 1s22s22p63s23p2 1s22s22p63s23p3 1s22s22p63s23p4 1s22s22p63s23p5 1s22s22p63s23p6

1 K 9 2 Ca 0 2 Sc 1 2 Ti 2 2 V 3 2 Cr 4 2 Cr 4

1s22s22p63s23p64s1 1s22s22p63s23p64s2 1s22s22p63s23p64s23d1 1s22s22p63s23p64s23d2 1s22s22p63s23p64s23d3 1s22s22p63s23p64s23d4 1s22s22p63s23p64s13d5

There is a tendency toward half-filled and completely filled d subshells. This is a consequence of the closeness of the 3d and the 4s orbital energies. The half filled and fully filled orbitals have a symmetry in the electrons and are more stable because they have maximum no. parallel spins and there for have less interaction between them.

2 Cu 9

Another example is Cu where electron from lower energy level jumps to the higher energy level to attain stability by filling the d orbital completely and thus attaining stability.

1s22s22p63s23p64s13d10

Orbital diagram and noble gas configurations

In the orbital diagrams each orbital of the subshell is represented by a box and the electron is represented by an arrow a positive spin or an arrow a negative spin.

1s

2s

2p

To simplify the process of writing the electronic configurations we can represent the total no. of first two shells by the name of the element [Ne] because the elements between Na and Ar the first two shells will have the same configuration as Ne as it is a noble gas.

ELECTRON CONFIGURATIONS OF IONS

Electrons do not come out the same way as we put them in according to the Aufbau Principle. Electrons leave the outer most shell first. Let's look at V vs V2+
2 V 3

1s22s22p63s23p64s23d3

V2+ 1s22s22p63s23p63d3 2 3