Question

Why does the Zr4+ ion exist?

Answer 1

Zr has atomic number 40 , so it need to lose 4 electrons to gain noble gas configuration of the noble gas Kr

Answer 2

Answer:

4 electrons are lost.

Explanation:

Hello,

Zirconium's electron configuration is:

$Zr^{40}=1s^22s^22p^63s^23p^64s^23d^{10}4p^65s^24d^2$

This allows us to infer that when all the electrons present at both the $5s^2$ and the $4d^2$ orbitals, 4 electrons are lost (two from $5s^2$ and two from $4d^2$), allowing the $Zr^{4+}$ species to exist.

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