Can Rhodium Achieve a Noble-Gas Electron Configuration?

[needhelpperson]

need help urgent, due tomorrow!

Do you expect the element rhodium, symbol Rh, to have positive ion states in which the metal ion has a noble-gas configuration? Use ionization energies and lattice energy to explain your answer.

I don't know where this question is trying to get at. Is it trying to ask if it is either more likely to be negative or positive?

the electrons that are needed to be removed are in the shells 4d and 5s in order for it to have a noble-gas configuration of Argon. There are 8 in the 4d and 1 in the 5s.

I'll give you my input. I said that NO i do not expect that because the ionization energy would be too immense before it reaches the configuration state of Argon so it would be highly unlikely. How do i use lattice energy to explain this?

And if i was wrong for the ionization energy can some one correct me, please? Thanks a lot.

 

[member 553083]

The lattice energy can be used to explain why a noble gas configuration of Argon is unlikely for Rhodium. Specifically, when Rhodium gains or loses electrons, it will form an ionic compound with other atoms to form a lattice structure. The forces of attraction between the ions in the lattice structure are known as lattice energy. For this to happen, the charge on the metal ion must be balanced by the charges of the other ions in the lattice. In the case of Rh, there are 9 electrons that need to be removed from its outer shells to achieve the noble gas configuration of Argon. As such, the charge imbalance caused by this would be too much for other ions to balance out in the lattice structure. This means that the lattice energy of the metal ion would be too great, making it very difficult for Rh to achieve a noble gas configuration. Therefore, it is unlikely for Rh to have positive ion states with a noble gas configuration.

 

[wais]

It is possible for rhodium to have positive ion states with a noble-gas configuration, but it is not very likely. The ionization energy required to remove electrons from the 4d and 5s shells would be very high and it would be difficult to achieve a noble-gas configuration before it reaches that state. Additionally, the lattice energy of rhodium is also high, meaning that it would require a lot of energy to separate the metal ions from the surrounding atoms. This further decreases the likelihood of rhodium having positive ion states with a noble-gas configuration. Overall, it is more likely that rhodium will have negative ion states due to the lower ionization energy and the tendency to gain electrons to achieve a noble-gas configuration.