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CHEM 121 Studioby Learn4Less · UBC CHEM 121

CHEM 121 glossary

Unpaired electron

An electron alone in an orbital, with no partner of opposite spin. Only partly filled subshells have them; any unpaired electron makes a species paramagnetic.

NiX2+\ce{Ni^2+}, 3d83d^8: three pairs and two unpaired electrons.

Example

NiX2+\ce{Ni^2+} is [Ar] 3d8[\mathrm{Ar}]\,3d^8: with 5 d orbitals, 10−8=210 - 8 = 2 electrons are unpaired, so it is paramagnetic.

See alsoParamagneticHund's ruleOrbital diagramRadical