Gold (Au)

Element 79 · transition metal · group 11, period 6

• 79 protons
• 1/11 valence e−
• +3, +1
• d-block

Properties

Electron configuration of gold

Orbitals fill from the lowest energy upward. Writing that out for gold gives 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p⁶ 3d¹⁰ 4s² 4p⁶ 4d¹⁰ 4f¹⁴ 5s² 5p⁶ 5d¹⁰ 6s¹, which is 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 3d10 4s2 4p6 4d10 4f14 5s2 5p6 5d10 6s1 in plain text.

Everything up to Xe is the same as in that noble gas, so it is usually abbreviated to [Xe] 4f¹⁴ 5d¹⁰ 6s¹. The part outside the bracket is what does the chemistry.

Gold ion charge

Gold commonly forms ions with a charge of +3, +1.

Common questions

How many valence electrons does gold have?

There is no single agreed answer for gold. Courses differ here. Counting only the outer s subshell gives 1; counting the inner d subshell with it gives 11, which is the group number. Check which convention your course uses before answering.

What is the electron configuration of gold?

1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 3d10 4s2 4p6 4d10 4f14 5s2 5p6 5d10 6s1, or [Xe] 4f14 5d10 6s1 written from the previous noble gas. Orbitals fill lowest energy first, but gold is one of the elements that breaks that order - a half-filled or filled d subshell is stable enough to be worth borrowing an s electron for.

What is the charge of gold?

Gold commonly forms ions with a charge of +3, +1. Transition metals have several accessible oxidation states, which is why more than one charge is listed.

How many protons, electrons and neutrons does gold have?

A neutral gold atom has 79 protons and 79 electrons. Its standard atomic weight is 196.97, so the most common isotope has about 118 neutrons.

Nearby elements

• Silver (Ag)above it in group 11
• Roentgenium (Rg)below it in group 11
• Platinum (Pt)one place to its left
• Mercury (Hg)one place to its right
• Copper (Cu)same group, same valence count

See the ionic charge of every element →