The orbital diagram for nickel shows the distribution of electrons in the atomic orbitals of a nickel atom. Nickel has an atomic number of 28, meaning it has 28 electrons. The electrons are arranged in the following order according to the Aufbau principle, which states that electrons occupy the lowest energy orbitals first.
The electron configuration for nickel can be written as:
- 1s2
- 2s2
- 2p6
- 3s2
- 3p6
- 4s2
- 3d8
This configuration can be represented visually in an orbital diagram:
1s: ↑↓ 2s: ↑↓ 2p: ↑↓ ↑↓ ↑↓ 3s: ↑↓ 3p: ↑↓ ↑↓ ↑↓ 4s: ↑↓ 3d: ↑↓ ↑↓ ↑ ↑ ↑
In this diagram:
- Each box represents an atomic orbital.
- Arrows represent electrons, with the direction indicating their spin (up or down).
- For the 3d orbitals, you can see that 8 electrons fill the orbitals, following Hund’s rule, which states that electrons will fill unoccupied orbitals singly before pairing up.
This orbital arrangement is important as it affects the chemical properties and behaviors of nickel, particularly in its ability to form bonds and its magnetic properties.