Exercise 3 | Ionic Bonds and Compounds
Manganese (Z = 25) can form 3 different cations. One of them is Mn4+.
Write the electronic configuration of Mn.
From this electronic configuration, determine the two other possible ions of Mn and their electronic configuration.
Ground state configuration of neutral atom: 4s < 3d
Mn: Z = 25 ⇒ 1s22s22p63s23p64s23d5
Ground state configuration of transition metal ions: 3d < 4s
First, we remove electrons from the orbital 4s ⇒ 2 electrons ⇒ Mn2+
Mn2+: 1s22s22p63s23p63d5
Then, we remove electrons from the orbital 3d ⇒ 5 electrons (+ 2 from 4s) ⇒ Mn7+
Mn7+: 1s22s22p63s23p6