Vanadium can exist in several oxidation states that are consecutively accessible in…

CHEMISTRY · Multi-part · CBSE · Chemistry · Structure of Atom · Structure of Atom

Problem

Vanadium can exist in several oxidation states that are consecutively accessible in electrochemical reactions. Consider the series V, V

^{2+}

, V

^{3+}

, V

^{4+}

, and V

^{5+}

(atomic number 23). (a) Write the complete ground-state electron configuration of a neutral V atom using bracket notation beginning with [Ar]. (b) Successively remove electrons to write the ground-state configurations of V

^{2+}

, V

^{3+}

, V

^{4+}

, and V

^{5+}

. For each step, identify the subshell from which the electron is removed. (c) For each species in the series, state the number of unpaired electrons present. Represent your reasoning with appropriate orbital-occupancy diagrams. (d) Using your results from part (c), predict which oxidation states of vanadium are expected to exhibit the strongest paramagnetism. Provide a justification based on unpaired-electron count and magnetic moment considerations. (e) The standard reduction potential for V

^{5+}

to V

^{4+}

is more positive than that for V

^{3+}

to V

^{2+}

. Discuss how differences in electron configuration and subshell stability help to account for this observation.

Related theory

Browse the problem library