2006-11-03 03:48:53 · 6 answers · asked by Max Camer 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Chemistry
Gold is not very reactive because its unpaired 6s electron is at a lower energy level than its many paired 5p and 5d electrons. So even though gold would like to give up its unpaired electron or accept a partner for it, it usually can't because of the stability of the higher energy electrons that are already paired.
2006-11-03 03:54:00 · answer #1 · answered by DavidK93 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
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Why gold isn't a very reactive metal?
2015-08-20 22:19:02 · answer #2 · answered by ? 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The answer lies in the electronic configuration of gold. Normally you would write gold's valence shell as 6s^2 5d^9. However, it can become more stable if a 6s electron moves into an empty d orbital, giving 6s^1 5d^10. This unpaired 6s electron "pairs" with another unpaired electron in another gold molecule. In that sense gold is somewhat like a dimer. That's probably not truly accurate, from a physical chemistry standpoint, but it's accurate enough and a useful way to look at gold.
2006-11-03 05:52:16 · answer #3 · answered by davisoldham 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Gold is a Transition metal (on the periodic table, it is #79) that isn't very reactive is because of the outer shell.
2006-11-03 06:12:44 · answer #4 · answered by Farishna B 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Here's a bit more of why gold is relatively inert. It involves relativity.
The outer electron in gold move faster than they "should," and the result is that their relativistic mass is greater, which in turn keeps them closer to the nucleus of the atom. It's outer electron moves at more than half the speed of light, and the larger the speed of this electron the smaller the Bohr radius of the atom. The result is that electron isn't likely to be involved in a chemical reaction (it's harder to lose an outer electron the closer it is to the atom generally).
2014-12-01 02:58:06 · answer #5 · answered by Cartesian M 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Gold is not very reactive. Unlike silver, which tarnishes when exposed to sulfur and many of its compounds, gold is the only metal that does not react with sulfur. Further, it is not affected by many acids. Only aqua regia or "kingly water", a 3:1 mixture of concentrated HCl and HNO3, will dissolve gold.
2006-11-03 04:23:29 · answer #6 · answered by Br1tney23 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Because of it's valence, gold is among the most inert metals. It has to do with the number of electrons in the atom's outer shell.
2006-11-03 04:22:40 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
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I'd say less coz it's less active
2016-04-01 08:59:06 · answer #8 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There aren't any extra electrons.
2006-11-03 03:52:29 · answer #9 · answered by pablo h 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋