Question

Explain the anomalous behavior of copper and chromium.

Answer 1

i. Copper :

• Copper (Cu) has atomic number 29.
• Its expected electronic configuration is 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p⁶ 4s² 3d⁹.
• The 3d orbital is neither half-filled nor fully filled. Hence, it has less stability.
• Due to interelectronic repulsion forces, one 4s electron enters into 3d orbital. This makes 3d orbital completely filled and 4s orbital half-filled which gives extra stability and the electronic configuration of Cu becomes, 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p⁶ 4s¹ 3d¹⁰.

ii. Chromium :

• Chromium (Cr) has atomic number 24. 
• Its expected electronic configuration is 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p⁶ 4s² 3d⁴.
• The 3d orbital is less stable as it is not half-filled.
• Due to inter electronic repulsion forces, one 4s electron enters into 3d orbital. This makes 4s and 3d orbitals half-filled which gives extra stability and the electronic configuration of Cr becomes, 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p⁶ 4s¹ 3d⁵.