Titanium is a transition element. Therefore, the valence electrons of titanium are determined differently. The last orbit of a titanium element has two electrons but its valence electrons are not two.
This article discusses in detail the valence electrons of titanium. Hopefully, after reading this article you will know in detail about the valence electrons of titanium.
Table of Contents
How many electrons and protons does titanium(Ti) have?
The nucleus is located in the center of the atom. Protons and neutrons are located in the nucleus. The atomic number of titanium(Ti) is 22. The atomic number is the number of protons.
That is, the number of protons in titanium is twenty-two. Electrons equal to protons are located in a circular shell outside the nucleus. That is, a titanium(Ti) atom has a total of twenty-two electrons.
What are the valence electrons of titanium(Ti)?
The 1st element in group-4 is titanium(Ti) and this is the d-block element. The elements in groups 3-12 are called transition elements. The valence electron is the total number of electrons in the last orbit.
But in the case of transition elements, the valence electrons remain in the inner shell(orbit). This is because the electron configuration of the transition elements shows that the last electrons enter the d-orbital.
The valence electrons determine the properties of the element and participate in the formation of bonds. The 22nd element in the periodic table is titanium(Ti). That is, the atom of the titanium element has a total of twenty-two electrons.
The electron configuration of titanium shows that the last shell(orbit) of titanium has a total of two electrons. But the electron configuration of scandium in the Aufbau method shows that its last electron(3d2) has entered the d-orbital.
To determine the valence electron of a transition element, the last shell(orbit) electrons have to be calculated with the d-orbital electrons.
That is, we can easily say that titanium has four valence electrons. There is an article on this site detailing the electron configuration of titanium(Ti), you can read it if you want.
How to determine the valence electron of titanium(Ti)?
Now we will know how to easily determine the valence electron of titanium(Ti). The valence electron has to be determined by following a few steps. The electron configuration is one of them. It is not possible to determine the valence electron without electron configuration.
Knowing the electron configuration in the right way, it is very easy to determine the valence electrons of all the elements. There is an article published on this site detailing the electron configuration, you can read it if you want.
The valence electrons of the transition element cannot be determined according to Bohr’s atomic model. This is because the valence electrons of the transition elements are located in the inner shell.
Electron configuration can be done through sub-orbits. The German physicist Aufbau first proposed an idea of electron configuration through sub-orbits. The Aufbau method is to do electron configuration through the sub-energy level.
These sub-orbitals are expressed by ‘l’. 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. These orbitals are named s, p, d, f. The electron holding capacity of these orbitals is s = 2, p = 6, d = 10 and f = 14.
However, the valence electron of the transition element can be easily determined according to the Aufbau principle. Now we will learn how to determine the valence electron of titanium(Ti).
Step-1: Determining the total number of electrons
1st we need to know the total number of electrons in the titanium atom. To know the number of electrons, you need to know the number of protons in titanium. And to know the number of protons, you need to know the atomic number of the titanium 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 titanium(Ti) elements from the periodic table. The atomic number is the number of protons. And 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 titanium atom. From the periodic table, we see that the atomic number of titanium(Ti) is 22. That is, the titanium atom has a total of twenty-two electrons.
Step-2: Need to do electron configuration
Step 2 is very important. In this step, the electrons of titanium(Ti) have to be arranged. We know that titanium atoms have a total of twenty-two electrons. The electron configuration of titanium shows that there are two electrons in the K shell, eight in the L shell, ten in the M shell, and two in the N shell(orbit).
That is, the first shell of titanium(Ti) has two electrons, the second shell has eight electrons, the 3rd shell has ten electrons and the 4th shell(last orbit) has two electrons. The number of electrons per shell of titanium(Ti) is 2, 8, 10, 2. The electron configuration of titanium through the sub-orbit is 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 4s2 3d2.
Step-3: Determining the valence shell(orbit) and calculate total electrons
The third step is to diagnose the valence shell(orbit). The last shell after the electron configuration is called the valence shell(orbit). The total number of electrons in a valence shell is called a valence electron.
But the valence electrons of the transition elements are located in the inner orbit(shell). For the transition element, the valence electron has to be determined by adding the total electron of the d-orbital to the electron in the last orbit(shell) of the atom.
The electron configuration of titanium shows that the last shell of titanium has two(4s2) electrons and the d-orbital has a total of two electrons(3d2). Therefore, the valence electrons of titanium(Ti) are four. In this way, the valence electrons of all the transition elements can be determined.
How to determine the valency of titanium?
The ability of one atom of an element to join another atom during the formation of a molecule is called valency(valence). 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 titanium depend on the bond formation. The oxidation states of titanium are +2, +3, +4. Therefore, the valency of titanium is 2, 3, 4.
Also, valency is determined from the electron configuration of the element in the excited state. The electron configuration of titanium excited state is Ti*(22) = 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 4s2 3d1 4p1.
Here, The electron configuration of titanium(Ti) shows that it has two unpaired(3d1 4p1) electrons. Therefore, the valency of titanium is 2. In the same way, the valency of titanium 3, 4 can be determined.
How many valence electrons does titanium ion(Ti4+) have?
The electron configuration of titanium shows that the last shell of titanium has two(4s2) electrons and the d-orbital has a total of two electrons. In this case, the valency of titanium is 4. We know the details about this.
Ti – 4e– → Ti4+
The electron configuration of titanium ions(Ti4+) is 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6. The electron configuration of titanium ion(Ti4+) shows that titanium ion has only three shells and that shell has eight electrons (3s2 3p6). The electron configuration shows that the titanium atom has acquired the electron configuration of argon.
That is, in this case, the valence(valency) of the titanium ion(Ti4+) is +4. Since the last shell(orbit) of a titanium ion has eight electrons, the valence electrons of titanium ion(Ti4+) are eight.
Compound formation of titanium
Titanium(Ti) participates in the formation of bonds through its valence electrons. We know that the valence electrons in titanium are four. This valence electron participates in the formation of bonds with atoms of other elements. Titanium(Ti) atoms form bonds by sharing electrons with oxygen atoms.
The electron configuration of oxygen shows that oxygen has six valence electrons. Two oxygen atoms and one titanium atom make titanium dioxide(TiO2) compounds by sharing electrons. As a result, the oxygen atom completes its octave and acquires the electron configuration of neon.
On the other hand, titanium acquires the electron configuration of argon. Therefore, one titanium atom shares electrons with two oxygen atoms to form the titanium dioxide(TiO2) compound through covalent bonding.
