Photoelectron spectroscopy (PES) provides information about the energies of electrons…
CHEMISTRY · Multi-part · AP · Chemistry · Atomic Structure and Properties · Atomic Structure and Properties
Problem
Photoelectron spectroscopy (PES) provides information about the energies of electrons removed from different subshells of an atom. The ground-state electron configuration of phosphorus is
1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p³.
Assume a qualitative PES spectrum is plotted with binding energy increasing to the left along the horizontal axis and signal intensity on the vertical axis.
(a) Identify the number of electrons that will contribute to each distinct peak in the spectrum and state the subshell that each peak represents.
(b) On a clearly labeled set of axes, sketch the qualitative PES spectrum you would expect for a gaseous sample of ground-state phosphorus. Your sketch must indicate
• the relative horizontal positions of the peaks (highest to lowest binding energy), and
• the relative heights of the peaks.
(c) Explain how the relative heights and the ordering of the peaks you sketched in part (b) are related to the electron configuration of phosphorus and to the relative energies of the 1s, 2s, 2p, 3s, and 3p subshells.