How Many Valence Electrons Does Nickel (Ni) Have?
The 1st element in group 10 is nickel and its symbol is ‘Ni’. The elements in groups 3-12 are called transition elements. The valence electrons are the total number of electrons in the last orbit (shell). However, in the case of transition elements, the valence electrons remain in the inner shell.
The total number of electrons in the last shell and d-subshell after the electron configuration of nickel is called the valence electrons of nickel. The last shell of nickel has two electrons and the d-subshell has a total of eight electrons. Therefore, the valence electrons of nickel are ten.
The valence electrons determine the element’s properties and participate in forming bonds. Nickel participates in the formation of bonds through its valence electrons. This article discusses how to calculate the number of valence electrons in nickel easily. Hopefully, after reading this article you will know in detail about this.
How do you calculate the number of valence electrons in a nickel atom?
The valence electrons determine the properties of the element and participate in the formation of bonds. The electrons of the d-orbital participate in the formation of bonds. So, to determine the valence electrons of a transition element, the last shell electrons have to be calculated with the d-orbital electrons.
The valence electrons have to be determined by following a few steps. The electron configuration is one of them. It is not possible to determine the valence electrons without electron configuration. Knowing the electron configuration in the right way, it is very easy to determine the valence electrons of all the elements.
The valence electrons of the transition element cannot be determined according to Bohr’s atomic model because the valence electrons of the transition elements are located in the inner shell. However, the valence electrons of the transition element can be easily determined according to the Aufbau principle. Now we will learn how to determine the valence electron of nickel.
Step-1: Determining the total number of electrons in nickel
1st we need to know the total number of electrons in the nickel atom. To know the number of electrons, you need to know the number of protons in nickel. To know the number of protons, you need to know the atomic number of the nickel element. To know the atomic number we need to take the help of a periodic table.
It is necessary to know the atomic number of nickel elements from the periodic table. The atomic number is the number of protons. Electrons equal to protons are located outside the nucleus. That is, we can finally say that there are electrons equal to the atomic number in the nickel atom. From the periodic table, we see that the atomic number of nickel is 28. That is, the nickel atom has a total of twenty-eight electrons.
Step-2: Need to do electron configuration of nickel
Step 2 is very important. In this step, the electrons of nickel have to be arranged. We know that nickel atoms have a total of twenty-eight electrons. The first two electrons enter the 1s orbital and the next two electrons enter the 2s orbital. The next six electrons enter the 2p orbital. The p-orbital can have a maximum of six electrons. So, six electrons enter the 2p orbital.
The next eight electrons enter the 3s and 3p orbitals. The 3p orbital is now full, so the two electrons enter the 4s orbital. We know that a d-orbital can have a maximum of ten electrons. Therefore, the remaining eight electrons enter the d-orbital. Therefore, the nickel electron configuration will be 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 3d8 4s2.
Step 3: Determine the valence shell and calculate the total electrons
The third step is to diagnose the valence shell. The last shell after the electron configuration is called the valence shell. The total number of electrons in a valence shell is called valence electrons. However, the valence electrons of the transition elements are located in the inner orbit.
For the transition element, the valence electron has to be determined by adding the total electrons of the d-orbital to the electron in the last shell of the atom. The last shell of nickel has two electrons and the d-orbital has a total of eight electrons. Therefore, the valence electrons of nickel are ten.
How many valence electrons does nickel ion(Ni2+, Ni3+) have?
The elements that have 1, 2, or 3 electrons in the last shell donate the electrons in the last shell during bond formation. The element that forms a bond by donating electrons is called cation. There are two types of nickel ions. The nickel atom exhibits Ni2+ and Ni3+ ions. The nickel atom donates two electrons in the 4s orbital to form a nickel ion(Ni2+).
Ni – 2e– → Ni2+
Here, the electron configuration of nickel ion(Ni2+) is 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 3d8. This electron configuration shows that the nickel ion(Ni2+) has three shells and the last shell has sixteen electrons. For this, nickel ion(Ni2+) has a total of sixteen valence electrons. Again, the nickel atom donates two electrons in the 4s orbital and an electron in the 3d orbital to convert nickel ion(Ni3+).
Ni – 3e– → Ni3+
Here. the electron configuration of nickel ion(Ni3+) is 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 3d7. This electron configuration shows that the nickel ion has three shells and the last shell has fifteen electrons(3s2 3p6 3d7). Therefore, in this case, the valence electrons of the nickel ion(Ni3+) are fifteen.
How to determine the valency of nickel?
The ability of one atom of an element to join another atom during the formation of a molecule is called valency. There are some rules for diagnosing valency. The number of electrons in an unpaired state in the last orbital after the electron configuration of an atom is called the valency of that element.
The oxidation states of nickel are +2 and +3. The oxidation state of nickel +2 has been used in the Nickel(II) oxide(NiO). The valency of nickel in this compound is 2. On the other hand, The oxidation state of nickel +3 has been used in the Nickel(III) oxide(Ni2O3). The valency of nickel in this compound is 3. The oxidation states of nickel depend on the bond formation.
