In atomic physics, the effective nuclear charge is the actual amount of positive (nuclear) charge experienced by an electron in a multi-electron atom. The term "effective" is used because the shielding effect of negatively charged electrons prevent higher energy electrons from experiencing the full nuclear charge of the nucleus due to the repelling effect of inner layer. The effective nuclear charge experienced by an electron is also called the core charge. It is possible to determine the strength of the nuclear charge by the oxidation number of the atom. Most of the physical and chemical properties of the elements can be explained on the basis of electronic configuration. Consider the behavior of ionization energies in the periodic table. It is known that the magnitude of ionization potential depends upon the following factors:
In the periodic table, effective nuclear charge decreases down a group and increases left to right across a period.
The effective atomic number Zeff, (sometimes referred to as the effective nuclear charge) of an atom is the number of protons that an electron in the element effectively 'sees' due to screening by inner-shell electrons. It is a measure of the electrostatic interaction between the negatively charged electrons and positively charged protons in the atom. One can view the electrons in an atom as being 'stacked' by energy outside the nucleus; the lowest energy electrons (such as the 1s and 2s electrons) occupy the space closest to the nucleus, and electrons of higher energy are located further from the nucleus.
The binding energy of an electron, or the energy needed to remove the electron from the atom, is a function of the electrostatic interaction between the negatively charged electrons and the positively charged nucleus. For instance, in iron (atomic number 26), the nucleus contains 26 protons. The electrons that are closest to the nucleus will 'see' nearly all of them. However, electrons further away are screened from the nucleus by other electrons in between, and feel less electrostatic interaction as a result. The 1s electron of iron (the closest one to the nucleus) sees an effective atomic number (number of protons) of 25. The reason why it is not 26 is that some of the electrons in the atom end up repelling the others, giving a net lower electrostatic interaction with the nucleus. One way of envisioning this effect is to imagine the 1s electron sitting on one side of the 26 protons in the nucleus, with another electron sitting on the other side; each electron will feel less than the attractive force of 26 protons because the other electron contributes a repelling force. The 4s electrons in iron, which are furthest from the nucleus, feel an effective atomic number of only 5.43 because of the 25 electrons in between it and the nucleus screening the charge.
Effective atomic numbers are useful not only in understanding why electrons further from the nucleus are so much more weakly bound than those closer to the nucleus, but also because they can tell us when to use simplified methods of calculating other properties and interactions. For instance, lithium, atomic number 3, has two electrons in the 1s shell and one in the 2s shell. Because the two 1s electrons screen the protons to give an effective atomic number for the 2s electron close to 1, we can treat this 2s valence electron with a hydrogenic model.
Mathematically, the effective atomic number Zeff can be calculated using methods known as "self-consistent field" calculations, but in simplified situations is just taken as the atomic number minus the number of electrons between the nucleus and the electron being considered.
In an atom with one electron, that electron experiences the full charge of the positive nucleus. In this case, the effective nuclear charge can be calculated by Coulomb's law.
However, in an atom with many electrons, the outer electrons are simultaneously attracted to the positive nucleus and repelled by the negatively charged electrons. The effective nuclear charge on such an electron is given by the following equation: where
S can be found by the systematic application of various rule sets.
The simplest method for determining the shielding constant for a given electron is the use of "Slater's rules", devised by John C. Slater, and published in 1930. [1] These algebraic rules are significantly simpler than finding shielding constants using ab initio calculation.
A more theoretically justified method is to calculate the shielding constant using the Hartree-Fock method. Douglas Hartree defined the effective Z of a Hartree–Fock orbital to be: where
Updated effective nuclear charge values were provided by Clementi et al. in 1963 and 1967. [2] [3] In their work, screening constants were optimized to produce effective nuclear charge values that agree with SCF calculations. Though useful as a predictive model, the resulting screening constants contain little chemical insight as a qualitative model of atomic structure.
H | He | |||||||||||||||||
Z | 1 | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
1s | 1.000 | 1.688 | ||||||||||||||||
Li | Be | B | C | N | O | F | Ne | |||||||||||
Z | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | ||||||||||
1s | 2.691 | 3.685 | 4.680 | 5.673 | 6.665 | 7.658 | 8.650 | 9.642 | ||||||||||
2s | 1.279 | 1.912 | 2.576 | 3.217 | 3.847 | 4.492 | 5.128 | 5.758 | ||||||||||
2p | 2.421 | 3.136 | 3.834 | 4.453 | 5.100 | 5.758 | ||||||||||||
Na | Mg | Al | Si | P | S | Cl | Ar | |||||||||||
Z | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | ||||||||||
1s | 10.626 | 11.609 | 12.591 | 13.575 | 14.558 | 15.541 | 16.524 | 17.508 | ||||||||||
2s | 6.571 | 7.392 | 8.214 | 9.020 | 9.825 | 10.629 | 11.430 | 12.230 | ||||||||||
2p | 6.802 | 7.826 | 8.963 | 9.945 | 10.961 | 11.977 | 12.993 | 14.008 | ||||||||||
3s | 2.507 | 3.308 | 4.117 | 4.903 | 5.642 | 6.367 | 7.068 | 7.757 | ||||||||||
3p | 4.066 | 4.285 | 4.886 | 5.482 | 6.116 | 6.764 | ||||||||||||
K | Ca | Sc | Ti | V | Cr | Mn | Fe | Co | Ni | Cu | Zn | Ga | Ge | As | Se | Br | Kr | |
Z | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 |
1s | 18.490 | 19.473 | 20.457 | 21.441 | 22.426 | 23.414 | 24.396 | 25.381 | 26.367 | 27.353 | 28.339 | 29.325 | 30.309 | 31.294 | 32.278 | 33.262 | 34.247 | 35.232 |
2s | 13.006 | 13.776 | 14.574 | 15.377 | 16.181 | 16.984 | 17.794 | 18.599 | 19.405 | 20.213 | 21.020 | 21.828 | 22.599 | 23.365 | 24.127 | 24.888 | 25.643 | 26.398 |
2p | 15.027 | 16.041 | 17.055 | 18.065 | 19.073 | 20.075 | 21.084 | 22.089 | 23.092 | 24.095 | 25.097 | 26.098 | 27.091 | 28.082 | 29.074 | 30.065 | 31.056 | 32.047 |
3s | 8.680 | 9.602 | 10.340 | 11.033 | 11.709 | 12.368 | 13.018 | 13.676 | 14.322 | 14.961 | 15.594 | 16.219 | 16.996 | 17.790 | 18.596 | 19.403 | 20.219 | 21.033 |
3p | 7.726 | 8.658 | 9.406 | 10.104 | 10.785 | 11.466 | 12.109 | 12.778 | 13.435 | 14.085 | 14.731 | 15.369 | 16.204 | 17.014 | 17.850 | 18.705 | 19.571 | 20.434 |
4s | 3.495 | 4.398 | 4.632 | 4.817 | 4.981 | 5.133 | 5.283 | 5.434 | 5.576 | 5.711 | 5.842 | 5.965 | 7.067 | 8.044 | 8.944 | 9.758 | 10.553 | 11.316 |
3d | 7.120 | 8.141 | 8.983 | 9.757 | 10.528 | 11.180 | 11.855 | 12.530 | 13.201 | 13.878 | 15.093 | 16.251 | 17.378 | 18.477 | 19.559 | 20.626 | ||
4p | 6.222 | 6.780 | 7.449 | 8.287 | 9.028 | 9.338 | ||||||||||||
Rb | Sr | Y | Zr | Nb | Mo | Tc | Ru | Rh | Pd | Ag | Cd | In | Sn | Sb | Te | I | Xe | |
Z | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 | 47 | 48 | 49 | 50 | 51 | 52 | 53 | 54 |
1s | 36.208 | 37.191 | 38.176 | 39.159 | 40.142 | 41.126 | 42.109 | 43.092 | 44.076 | 45.059 | 46.042 | 47.026 | 48.010 | 48.992 | 49.974 | 50.957 | 51.939 | 52.922 |
2s | 27.157 | 27.902 | 28.622 | 29.374 | 30.125 | 30.877 | 31.628 | 32.380 | 33.155 | 33.883 | 34.634 | 35.386 | 36.124 | 36.859 | 37.595 | 38.331 | 39.067 | 39.803 |
2p | 33.039 | 34.030 | 35.003 | 35.993 | 36.982 | 37.972 | 38.941 | 39.951 | 40.940 | 41.930 | 42.919 | 43.909 | 44.898 | 45.885 | 46.873 | 47.860 | 48.847 | 49.835 |
3s | 21.843 | 22.664 | 23.552 | 24.362 | 25.172 | 25.982 | 26.792 | 27.601 | 28.439 | 29.221 | 30.031 | 30.841 | 31.631 | 32.420 | 33.209 | 33.998 | 34.787 | 35.576 |
3p | 21.303 | 22.168 | 23.093 | 23.846 | 24.616 | 25.474 | 26.384 | 27.221 | 28.154 | 29.020 | 29.809 | 30.692 | 31.521 | 32.353 | 33.184 | 34.009 | 34.841 | 35.668 |
4s | 12.388 | 13.444 | 14.264 | 14.902 | 15.283 | 16.096 | 17.198 | 17.656 | 18.582 | 18.986 | 19.865 | 20.869 | 21.761 | 22.658 | 23.544 | 24.408 | 25.297 | 26.173 |
3d | 21.679 | 22.726 | 25.397 | 25.567 | 26.247 | 27.228 | 28.353 | 29.359 | 30.405 | 31.451 | 32.540 | 33.607 | 34.678 | 35.742 | 36.800 | 37.839 | 38.901 | 39.947 |
4p | 10.881 | 11.932 | 12.746 | 13.460 | 14.084 | 14.977 | 15.811 | 16.435 | 17.140 | 17.723 | 18.562 | 19.411 | 20.369 | 21.265 | 22.181 | 23.122 | 24.030 | 24.957 |
5s | 4.985 | 6.071 | 6.256 | 6.446 | 5.921 | 6.106 | 7.227 | 6.485 | 6.640 | (empty) | 6.756 | 8.192 | 9.512 | 10.629 | 11.617 | 12.538 | 13.404 | 14.218 |
4d | 15.958 | 13.072 | 11.238 | 11.392 | 12.882 | 12.813 | 13.442 | 13.618 | 14.763 | 15.877 | 16.942 | 17.970 | 18.974 | 19.960 | 20.934 | 21.893 | ||
5p | 8.470 | 9.102 | 9.995 | 10.809 | 11.612 | 12.425 |
Nuclear charge is the electric charge of a nucleus of an atom, equal to the number of protons in the nucleus times the elementary charge. In contrast, the effective nuclear charge is the attractive positive charge of nuclear protons acting on valence electrons, which is always less than the total number of protons present in a nucleus due to the shielding effect. [4]
Atoms are the basic particles of the chemical elements. An atom consists of a nucleus of protons and generally neutrons, surrounded by an electromagnetically bound swarm of electrons. The chemical elements are distinguished from each other by the number of protons that are in their atoms. For example, any atom that contains 11 protons is sodium, and any atom that contains 29 protons is copper. Atoms with the same number of protons but a different number of neutrons are called isotopes of the same element.
In atomic physics, the Bohr model or Rutherford–Bohr model was the first successful model of the atom. Developed from 1911 to 1918 by Niels Bohr and building Ernest Rutherford's nuclear model, it supplanted the plum pudding model of J J Thomson only to be replaced by the quantum atomic model in the 1920s. It consists of a small, dense nucleus surrounded by orbiting electrons. It is analogous to the structure of the Solar System, but with attraction provided by electrostatic force rather than gravity, and with the electron energies quantized.
A hydrogen atom is an atom of the chemical element hydrogen. The electrically neutral atom contains a single positively charged proton and a single negatively charged electron bound to the nucleus by the Coulomb force. Atomic hydrogen constitutes about 75% of the baryonic mass of the universe.
A proton is a stable subatomic particle, symbol
p
, H+, or 1H+ with a positive electric charge of +1 e (elementary charge). Its mass is slightly less than the mass of a neutron and 1836 times the mass of an electron (the proton-to-electron mass ratio). Protons and neutrons, each with a mass of approximately one atomic mass unit, are jointly referred to as nucleons (particles present in atomic nuclei).
In quantum mechanics, the Pauli exclusion principle states that two or more identical particles with half-integer spins cannot simultaneously occupy the same quantum state within a system that obeys the laws of quantum mechanics. This principle was formulated by Austrian physicist Wolfgang Pauli in 1925 for electrons, and later extended to all fermions with his spin–statistics theorem of 1940.
The atomic radius of a chemical element is a measure of the size of its atom, usually the mean or typical distance from the center of the nucleus to the outermost isolated electron. Since the boundary is not a well-defined physical entity, there are various non-equivalent definitions of atomic radius. Four widely used definitions of atomic radius are: Van der Waals radius, ionic radius, metallic radius and covalent radius. Typically, because of the difficulty to isolate atoms in order to measure their radii separately, atomic radius is measured in a chemically bonded state; however theoretical calculations are simpler when considering atoms in isolation. The dependencies on environment, probe, and state lead to a multiplicity of definitions.
In physics and chemistry, ionization energy (IE) is the minimum energy required to remove the most loosely bound electron of an isolated gaseous atom, positive ion, or molecule. The first ionization energy is quantitatively expressed as
The Bohr radius is a physical constant, approximately equal to the most probable distance between the nucleus and the electron in a hydrogen atom in its ground state. It is named after Niels Bohr, due to its role in the Bohr model of an atom. Its value is 5.29177210544(82)×10−11 m.
In atomic physics, the Rydberg formula calculates the wavelengths of a spectral line in many chemical elements. The formula was primarily presented as a generalization of the Balmer series for all atomic electron transitions of hydrogen. It was first empirically stated in 1888 by the Swedish physicist Johannes Rydberg, then theoretically by Niels Bohr in 1913, who used a primitive form of quantum mechanics. The formula directly generalizes the equations used to calculate the wavelengths of the hydrogen spectral series.
In nuclear physics and nuclear chemistry, a nuclear reaction is a process in which two nuclei, or a nucleus and an external subatomic particle, collide to produce one or more new nuclides. Thus, a nuclear reaction must cause a transformation of at least one nuclide to another. If a nucleus interacts with another nucleus or particle, they then separate without changing the nature of any nuclide, the process is simply referred to as a type of nuclear scattering, rather than a nuclear reaction.
In computational physics and chemistry, the Hartree–Fock (HF) method is a method of approximation for the determination of the wave function and the energy of a quantum many-body system in a stationary state.
In chemistry, the shielding effect sometimes referred to as atomic shielding or electron shielding describes the attraction between an electron and the nucleus in any atom with more than one electron. The shielding effect can be defined as a reduction in the effective nuclear charge on the electron cloud, due to a difference in the attraction forces on the electrons in the atom. It is a special case of electric-field screening. This effect also has some significance in many projects in material sciences.
In atomic physics, the fine structure describes the splitting of the spectral lines of atoms due to electron spin and relativistic corrections to the non-relativistic Schrödinger equation. It was first measured precisely for the hydrogen atom by Albert A. Michelson and Edward W. Morley in 1887, laying the basis for the theoretical treatment by Arnold Sommerfeld, introducing the fine-structure constant.
In theoretical and computational chemistry, a basis set is a set of functions that is used to represent the electronic wave function in the Hartree–Fock method or density-functional theory in order to turn the partial differential equations of the model into algebraic equations suitable for efficient implementation on a computer.
Nuclear binding energy in experimental physics is the minimum energy that is required to disassemble the nucleus of an atom into its constituent protons and neutrons, known collectively as nucleons. The binding energy for stable nuclei is always a positive number, as the nucleus must gain energy for the nucleons to move apart from each other. Nucleons are attracted to each other by the strong nuclear force. In theoretical nuclear physics, the nuclear binding energy is considered a negative number. In this context it represents the energy of the nucleus relative to the energy of the constituent nucleons when they are infinitely far apart. Both the experimental and theoretical views are equivalent, with slightly different emphasis on what the binding energy means.
Core electrons are the electrons in an atom that are not valence electrons and do not participate in chemical bonding. The nucleus and the core electrons of an atom form the atomic core. Core electrons are tightly bound to the nucleus. Therefore, unlike valence electrons, core electrons play a secondary role in chemical bonding and reactions by screening the positive charge of the atomic nucleus from the valence electrons.
In quantum chemistry, Slater's rules provide numerical values for the effective nuclear charge in a many-electron atom. Each electron is said to experience less than the actual nuclear charge, because of shielding or screening by the other electrons. For each electron in an atom, Slater's rules provide a value for the screening constant, denoted by s, S, or σ, which relates the effective and actual nuclear charges as
A normalized 1s Slater-type function is a function which is used in the descriptions of atoms and in a broader way in the description of atoms in molecules. It is particularly important as the accurate quantum theory description of the smallest free atom, hydrogen. It has the form
The atomic nucleus is the small, dense region consisting of protons and neutrons at the center of an atom, discovered in 1911 by Ernest Rutherford based on the 1909 Geiger–Marsden gold foil experiment. After the discovery of the neutron in 1932, models for a nucleus composed of protons and neutrons were quickly developed by Dmitri Ivanenko and Werner Heisenberg. An atom is composed of a positively charged nucleus, with a cloud of negatively charged electrons surrounding it, bound together by electrostatic force. Almost all of the mass of an atom is located in the nucleus, with a very small contribution from the electron cloud. Protons and neutrons are bound together to form a nucleus by the nuclear force.
A helium atom is an atom of the chemical element helium. Helium is composed of two electrons bound by the electromagnetic force to a nucleus containing two protons along with two neutrons, depending on the isotope, held together by the strong force. Unlike for hydrogen, a closed-form solution to the Schrödinger equation for the helium atom has not been found. However, various approximations, such as the Hartree–Fock method, can be used to estimate the ground state energy and wavefunction of the atom. Historically, the first such helium spectrum calculation was done by Albrecht Unsöld in 1927. Its success was considered to be one of the earliest signs of validity of Schrödinger's wave mechanics.
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