Samarium Electron Configuration: Everything You Need to Know

Electron configuration represents the arrangement of electrons in an orbital. Let us know about the electronic configuration of Samarium.

Electron configuration of Samarium(Sm) is [Xe] 4f⁶ 6s² with atomic number 62. It belongs to F block elements in periodic table. It is one of the lanthanide series element and is used for the carbon arc lightning for studio lightning and projection. It is basically found in monazite & bastnasite.

In this article we will discuss some facts about electronic configuration of Samarium, ground state, excited state electronic configuration and orbital diagram of Samarium.

How to write Samarium electron configuration?

The electron configuration of Sm is written using the following steps:

• Sm consists of 62 electrons arranged in 6 electron shell & 4 sub-shells; s, p, d & f which hold the electron.
• The highest capacity of holding electron of s, p, d & f orbital is 2, 6, 10 and 14 respectively.
• The orbitals are arranged in increasing energy as 1s 2s 2p 3s 3p 4s 3d 4p 5s 4d 5p 6s 4f following Aufbau principle.
• Finally, the number of electrons are denoted in the orbitals as per their capacity.
• Thus, electronic configuration of Sm is 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p⁶ 4s² 3d¹⁰ 4p⁶ 5s² 4d¹⁰ 5p⁶ 6s² 4f⁶.

Samarium electron configuration diagram

Electron configuration of Sm is 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p⁶ 4s² 3d¹⁰ 4p⁶ 5s² 4d¹⁰ 5p⁶ 6s² 4f⁶ and is represented diagrammatically below where electrons are filled in various orbitals having different energy levels–

• S orbit can hold 2 electrons maximum,
• P orbit can hold 6 electrons maximum,
• D orbital can hold 10 electrons maximum and
• F orbital can hold 14 electrons maximum.

Samarium electron configuration notation

The Sm electron configuration notation is [Xe] 4f⁶ 6s² .

Samarium unabbreviated electron configuration

1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p⁶ 4s² 3d¹⁰ 4p⁶ 5s² 4d¹⁰ 5p⁶ 6s² 4f⁶ is the unabbreviated electron configuration of Sm.

Ground state Samarium electronic configuration

Ground state electron configuration of Sm is 1s2 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p⁶ 4s² 3d¹⁰ 4p⁶ 5s² 4d¹⁰ 5p⁶ 6s² 4f⁶, which is also written as [Xe] 4f⁶ 6s².

Excited state Samarium electronic configuration

Excited state electron configuration of Sm is [Xe] 5d¹ 4f⁵ 6s², where the last valance electron enters in higher orbital position due to higher energy level gained by the atom.

Ground state Samarium orbital diagram

The ground state electron configuration of Sm is [Xe] 4f² 6s², where-

• The electrons are filled in various orbitals in increasing energy as per Aufbau principle.
• According to Hund’s rule, the electrons are first filled singly in all the orbitals with parallel spin, before pairing in any one orbital.
• Thus the ground state orbital diagram of Sm is represented as follows.

Samarium 3⁺ electron configuration

The electronic configuration of Sm ³⁺ is 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p⁶ 4s² 3d¹⁰ 4p⁶ 5s² 4d¹⁰ 5p⁶ 6s² 4f⁹.

Conclusion

This article concluded that Samarium consist of a total of 62 electrons in its orbitals and these electrons filled in various orbitals having different energy levels. Samarium is a catalyst and chemical reagent. Samarium catalyst used for decomposition of plastic, dechlorination of pollutant as well.

Also Read:

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• Technetium electron configuration
• Aluminium electron configuration
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• Mercury electron configuration
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