How to Write the Electron Configuration for Lead (Pb)

Lead is the 82nd element in the periodic table and the symbol is ‘Pb’. Lead has an atomic number of 82, which means that its atom has 82 electrons around its nucleus.

To write the electron configuration for lead, the first two electrons enter the 1s orbital. Since the 1s orbital can hold only two electrons the next two will enter the 2s orbital. The next six electrons enter the 2p subshell. The p subshell can hold a maximum of six electrons. So first we put six electrons in the 2p subshell and then the next two electrons in the 3s orbital.

Since the 3s is now full, the electrons will move to the 3p subshell, where the next six electrons will enter. The 3p subshell is now full. Consequently, the following two electrons will enter the 4s orbital. Since the 4s orbital is full, the next ten electrons will move into the 3d subshell.

The d subshell can hold a maximum of ten electrons. So, the next six electrons will enter the 4p subshell. Since the 4p is full, the next two electrons will move to the 5s orbital. The 5s orbital is now full. Consequently, the next ten electrons will enter the 4d subshell. Since the 4d is full, the next six electrons will enter the 5p subshell.

The 5p subshell is now full. Consequently, the next two electrons will enter the 6s orbital. The 6s orbital is now full. So, the next fourteen electrons will enter the 4f subshell. The f subshell can hold a maximum of fourteen electrons. So, the next ten electrons will enter the 5d subshell. Since the 5d is full, the remaining two electrons will enter the 6p subshell. Hence, the electron configuration of lead will be 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p⁶ 4s² 3d¹⁰ 4p⁶ 5s² 4d¹⁰ 5p⁶ 6s² 4f¹⁴ 5d¹⁰ 6p².

The electron configuration of lead refers to the arrangement of electrons in the lead atom’s orbitals. It describes how electrons are distributed among the various atomic orbitals and energy levels, and provides a detailed map of where each electron is likely to be found.

To understand the mechanism of lead electron configuration, you must understand two basic things. These are orbits and orbitals. Also, you can arrange electrons in those two ways. In this article, I have discussed all the necessary points to understand the mechanism of lead electron configuration. I hope this will be helpful in your study.

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Electron arrangement of Lead through the Bohr model

The atomic number is the number of electrons in that element. The atomic number of lead is 82. That is, the number of electrons in lead is eighty-two. Therefore, a lead atom will have two electrons in the first shell, eight in the 2nd orbit, eighteen in the 3rd shell, and thirty-two in the 4th shell.

According to Bohr’s formula, the fifth shell will have twenty-two electrons but the fifth shell of lead will have eighteen electrons and the remaining four electrons will be in the sixth shell. Therefore, the order of the number of electrons in each shell of the lead atom is 2, 8, 18, 32, 18, 4.

Electron configuration of Lead through orbital

Atomic energy shells are subdivided into sub-energy levels. These sub-energy levels are also called orbital. The most probable region of electron rotation around the nucleus is called the orbital.

The sub-energy levels depend on the azimuthal quantum number. It is expressed by ‘l’. The value of ‘l’ is from 0 to (n – 1). The sub-energy levels are known as s, p, d, and f.

Orbit Number	Value of ‘l’	Number of subshells	Number of orbitals	Subshell name	Electrons holding capacity	Electron configuration
1	0	1	1	1s	2	1s2
2	0 1	2	1 3	2s 2p	2 6	2s2 2p6
3	0 1 2	3	1 3 5	3s 3p 3d	2 6 10	3s2 3p6 3d10
4	0 1 2 3	4	1 3 5 7	4s 4p 4d 4f	2 6 10 14	4s2 4p6 4d10 4f14

Explanation:

• If n = 1,
  (n – 1) = (1–1) = 0
  Therefore, the value of ‘l’ is 0. So, the sub-energy level is 1s.
• If n = 2,
  (n – 1) = (2–1) = 1.
  Therefore, the value of ‘l’ is 0, 1. So, the sub-energy levels are 2s, and 2p.
• If n = 3,
  (n – 1) = (3–1) = 2.
  Therefore, the value of ‘l’ is 0, 1, 2. So, the sub-energy levels are 3s, 3p, and 3d.
• If n = 4,
  (n – 1) = (4–1) = 3
  Therefore, the value of ‘l’ is 0, 1, 2, 3. So, the sub-energy levels are 4s, 4p, 4d, and 4f.
• If n = 5,
  (n – 1) = (n – 5) = 4.

Therefore, l = 0,1,2,3,4. The number of sub-shells will be 5 but 4s, 4p, 4d, and 4f in these four subshells it is possible to arrange the electrons of all the elements of the periodic table.

Sub-shell name	Name source	Value of ‘l’	Value of ‘m’ (0 to ± l)	Number of orbital (2l+1)	Electrons holding capacity 2(2l+1)
s	Sharp	0	0	1	2
p	Principal	1	−1, 0, +1	3	6
d	Diffuse	2	−2, −1, 0, +1, +2	5	10
f	Fundamental	3	−3, −2, −1, 0, +1, +2, +3	7	14

The orbital number of the s-subshell is one, three in the p-subshell, five in the d-subshell, and seven in the f-subshell. Each orbital can have a maximum of two electrons.

The sub-energy level ‘s’ can hold a maximum of two electrons, ‘p’ can hold a maximum of six electrons, ‘d’ can hold a maximum of ten electrons, and ‘f’ can hold a maximum of fourteen electrons.

Aufbau is a German word, which means building up. The main proponents of this principle are scientists Niels Bohr and Pauli. The Aufbau method is to do electron configuration through the sub-energy level.

The Aufbau principle is that the electrons present in the atom will first complete the lowest energy orbital and then gradually continue to complete the higher energy orbital.

The energy of an orbital is calculated from the value of the principal quantum number ‘n’ and the azimuthal quantum number ‘l’. The orbital for which the value of (n + l) is lower is the low energy orbital and the electron will enter that orbital first.

Orbital	Orbit (n)	Azimuthal quantum number (l)	Orbital energy (n + l)
3d	3	2	5
4s	4	0	4

Here, the energy of 4s orbital is less than that of 3d. So, the electron will enter the 4s orbital first and enter the 3d orbital when the 4s orbital is full. Following the Aufbau principle, the sequence of entry of electrons into orbitals is 1s 2s 2p 3s 3p 4s 3d 4p 5s 4d 5p 6s 4f 5d 6p 7s 5f 6d 7p.

Therefore, the complete electron configuration for lead should be written as 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p⁶ 4s² 3d¹⁰ 4p⁶ 5s² 4d¹⁰ 5p⁶ 6s² 4f¹⁴ 5d¹⁰ 6p².

Note: The abbreviated electron configuration of lead is [Xe] 4f¹⁴ 5d¹⁰ 6s² 6p². When writing an electron configuration, you have to write serially.

Excited state electron configuration of Lead

Atoms can jump from one orbital to another orbital in an excited state. This is called quantum jump. The ground-state electron configuration of lead is 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p⁶ 3d¹⁰ 4s² 4p⁶ 4d¹⁰ 4f¹⁴ 5s² 5p⁶ 5d¹⁰ 6s² 6p².

In the tin ground-state electron configuration, the last electrons of the 6p orbital are located in the 6p_x and 6p_y orbitals. We already know that the p-subshell has three orbitals. The orbitals are p_x, p_y, and p_z and each orbital can have a maximum of two electrons.

Then the correct electron configuration of lead(Pb) in the ground state will be 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p⁶ 3d¹⁰ 4s² 4p⁶ 4d¹⁰ 4f¹⁴ 5s² 5p⁶ 5d¹⁰ 6s² 6p_x¹ 6p_y¹. This electron configuration shows that the last shell of the lead atom has two unpaired electrons. So in this case, the valency of lead is 2.

When the tin atom is excited, then the lead atom absorbs energy. As a result, an electron in the 6s orbital jumps to the 6p_z orbital. Therefore, the electron configuration of lead(Pb*) in an excited state will be 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p⁶ 3d¹⁰ 4s² 4p⁶ 4d¹⁰ 4f¹⁴ 5s² 5p⁶ 5d¹⁰ 6s¹ 6p_x¹ 6p_y¹ 6p_z¹. The valency of the element is determined by electron configuration in the excited state. Here, lead has four unpaired electrons. So, the valency of lead is 4.

Lead ion(Pb²⁺, Pb⁴⁺) electron configuration

The electron configuration shows that the last shell of lead has four electrons. Therefore, the valence electrons of lead are four. There are two types of lead ions. The lead atom exhibits Pb²⁺ and Pb⁴⁺ ions. The element that forms a bond by donating electrons is called cation. The lead atom donates two electrons in the 6p orbital to form a lead ion(Pb²⁺). That is, lead is a cation element.

Pb – 2e^– → Pb²⁺

Here, the electron configuration of lead ion(Pb²⁺) is 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p⁶ 3d¹⁰ 4s² 4p⁶ 4d¹⁰ 4f¹⁴ 5s² 5p⁶ 5d¹⁰ 6s². On the other hand, the lead atom donates two electrons in the 6p orbital and two electrons in 6s orbital to convert lead ion(Pb⁴⁺).

Pb – 4e^– → Pb⁴⁺

The electron configuration of lead ion(Pb⁴⁺) is 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p⁶ 3d¹⁰ 4s² 4p⁶ 4d¹⁰ 4f¹⁴ 5s² 5p⁶ 5d¹⁰. This electron configuration shows that the lead ion(Pb⁴⁺) has five shells and the last shell has eighteen electrons and it achieves a stable electron configuration. Lead atoms exhibit +2 and +4 oxidation states. The oxidation state of the element changes depending on the bond formation.