Indium Electron Configuration: 7 Easy Step-by-Step Guide!

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A periodic table element with the symbol “In” is Indium having electronic configuration 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 3d10 4s2 4p6 4d10 5s2 5p1. Let us explore some facts about indium.

Indium is silvery lustrous solid classified as post transition element belonging to boron family. In periodic table it is present in Group 13 and period 5 and is a p- block element with atomic number 49. It is diamagnetic.

Knowledge on the electronic configuration diagram, notation, and the orbital diagram about indium is covered in this article.

How to write indium electron configuration

A post transition metal element “Indium” contains 49 electrons in total. These electrons are arranged in orbits as per rules:

  • The orbitals in an atom are designated as s, p, d and f with a maximum limit of electrons as 2,6,10 and 14 respectively.
  • Mark the orbitals as 1s 2s 2p 3s 3p 3d 4s 4p 4f 5d and fill them following Aufbau principle .
  • The electron filling proceeds with the lowest energy level to the highest level, with the orbitals being filled under their utmost capacity.
  • In indium 5p orbital is partly filled; meanwhile, all other orbitals are filled upto their highest limit.
  • Thus, final electron configuration of indium is- 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 3d10 4s2 4p6 4d10 5s2 5p1

Indium electron configuration diagram

The electron configuration of In is 1s22s22p63s23p63d104s24p64d105s25p1. 

As per Aufbau principle, the electron configuration of In is shown in the diagram below, where n is the principal quantum number and l is the azimuthal quantum number.

indium final
Electronic Configuration diagram of In

Indium electron configuration notation

In has 49 electrons with electronic configuration 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 3d10 4s2 4p6 4d10 5s2 5p1 . The starting electrons can also be written as a nearest inert gas configuration which is Kr having atomic number 36, [Kr] 4d10 5s2 5p1 .    

Indium unabbreviated electron configuration

1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 3d10 4s2 4p6 4d10 5s2 5p1 is unabbreviated electronic configuration of Indium i.e., without inert gas configuration.

Ground state indium electron configuration

[Kr] 4d105s25p1 is the ground state electronic configuration i.e., neither gain nor loss of electrons.

Excited state of indium electron configuration

In+ : [Kr] 4d10 5s25p0 represents the loss of electrons means 48 electron count  and In–:  [Kr] 4d10 5s2 5p2 represents the gain of electrons i.e.50 electron count.

Ground state indium orbital diagram

1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 3d10 4s2 4p6 4d10 5s2 5p1 is the ground state electronic configuration of In.Following are the steps for the representation of the orbital diagram of indium in its ground state.

  • The orbitals begin from 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 are shown by circles and are donated from the nucleus as K, L, M, N, etc.
  • The first shell starting from the nucleus, has 2 electrons, followed by filling 8, 18, 32, and so on.
  • The s, p and d orbitals are entirely occupied, i.e., they have attained their maximum limit of electron occupancy.
  • The p orbital is not totally filled and has only one electrons.
atomic indium
Orbital diagram of In

Indium 3+ electron configuration

In3+refers to loss of three electrons and will be represented as : [Kr]4d105s05p0 and it is stable in nature as having fully filled d orbital.

Indium condensed electron configuration

Condensed electronic configuration for indium is [Kr] 4d10 5s2 5p1 with the +1 or +3 oxidation state; however, the +3 state is common.

Conclusion

Indium has 39 isotopes out of which only In-113 isotope is stable naturally occurring and all other are synthetic. Its oxide is used to made touch screens, solar panels etc. And nitrides, phosphides, are applicable in transistors and microchips. It is also used for making alloys of low melting point.

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