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| 1. |
Explain why mercury (I) ion exists as Hg_(2)^(2+) ions while copper (I)ion exists as Cu^(+)ion. |
| Answer» Solution :The electronicconfiguration of HG(I), i.e., `Hg^(+) ` is `[Xe] 4f^(14)5d^(10) 6s^(1)` and thus has one electron in the valence 6s-orbital. If this were so, all Hg(I) compoundsshould be paramagnetic butactually they are diamagnetic. This behaviour can be explainedif we ASSUME that the singly filled 6s-orbitals of the two `Hg^(+)` ions overlap to forma Hg-Hg covalent bond. Thus, `Hg^(+)` ions exist as dimeric species, i.e., `Hg_(2)^(2+)` . In contrast, the electronic configurationof Cu(I) ion, i.e., `Cu^(+)` is `[Ar] 3D^(10)` . Therefore, it has no unpaired electrons to form dimeric species, i.e., `Cu_(2)^(2+)` and hence it ALWAYS exists as `Cu^(+)` ion. | |