Question

Silver atom has completely filled d - orbitals in its ground state, it is still considered to be a transition element. Justify the statement.

Answer 1

Transition elements are those elements which have a partially filled d subshell in any common oxidation states.

The electronic configuration of Ag is [Kr] 4d¹⁰ 5s¹ in ground state.

Silver metal shows two oxidation states t₁ and t₂.

In t₁ oxidation state an electron is removed from the 5s-orbital. However in +2 oxidation state, electron is removed from both 5s and 4d- orbital. Thus the d - orbital becomes incomplete because of that silver metal is considered as transition metal.

Ag⁺² = [Kr] 4d¹⁰ 5s⁰

Ag⁺² = [Kr] 4d⁹ 5s⁰