Ask A Scientist© Chemistry Archive

name         Michael W.
status       student
age          13

Question -   I'm doing a science project on Element 111 (Unununium,
according to some...), and I'm having trouble finding the full electron
structure. I understand there are some irregularities in F orbitals, and
I'm not sure exactly in what order the electrons fill the energy levels.
-----------
My web source
http://www.webelements.com/webelements/elements/text/Uuu/econ.html
reports the electronic structure of element 111 as: [Rn] 5f14. 6d10. 7s1,
where [Rn] is the closed shell structure of radon, and the remaining
electrons are filled in according to and extrapolation from gold (Au). These
outer shell electrons are very close in energy and it would not be
surprising if the energy levels cross over, so the above is just and
educated guess. Not enough element 111 has been isolated to determine its
bulk chemical and physical properties.

Vince Calder
=========================================================