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Mercury (Hg)

Element 80 · transition metal · group 12, period 6

Mercury shell diagram: 2, 8, 18, 32, 18, 2 electronsHg80
Electron shells, 2 + 8 + 18 + 32 + 18 + 2. The outer shell is highlighted - it is the only one that takes part in bonding.

Mercury is element 80, a transition metal in group 12 and period 6. Its electron configuration is [Xe] 4f14 5d10 6s2. The shells fill 2, 8, 18, 32, 18, 2. Courses differ here. Counting only the outer s subshell gives 2; counting the inner d subshell with it gives 12, which is the group number. It commonly forms ions with a charge of +2, +1.

Properties

Atomic number80
SymbolHg
Standard atomic weight200.59 u
Group12
Period6
Blockd-block
Categorytransition metal
Electron configuration1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 3d10 4s2 4p6 4d10 4f14 5s2 5p6 5d10 6s2
Noble-gas notation[Xe] 4f14 5d10 6s2
Electrons per shell2, 8, 18, 32, 18, 2
Valence electrons2 or 12
Common ionic charge+2, +1
Electronegativity (Pauling)2
Protons / electrons80 / 80

Electron configuration of mercury

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

Everything up to Xe is the same as in that noble gas, so it is usually abbreviated to [Xe] 4f14 5d10 6s2. The part outside the bracket is what does the chemistry.

SubshellElectronsCapacity
1s 2 2
2s 2 2
2p 6 6
3s 2 2
3p 6 6
3d 10 10
4s 2 2
4p 6 6
4d 10 10
4f 14 14
5s 2 2
5p 6 6
5d 10 10
6s 2 2

Mercury ion charge

Mercury commonly forms ions with a charge of +2, +1.

Common questions

How many valence electrons does mercury have?

There is no single agreed answer for mercury. Courses differ here. Counting only the outer s subshell gives 2; counting the inner d subshell with it gives 12, which is the group number. Check which convention your course uses before answering.

What is the electron configuration of mercury?

1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 3d10 4s2 4p6 4d10 4f14 5s2 5p6 5d10 6s2, or [Xe] 4f14 5d10 6s2 written from the previous noble gas. Orbitals fill lowest energy first.

What is the charge of mercury?

Mercury commonly forms ions with a charge of +2, +1. Transition metals have several accessible oxidation states, which is why more than one charge is listed.

How many protons, electrons and neutrons does mercury have?

A neutral mercury atom has 80 protons and 80 electrons. Its standard atomic weight is 200.59, so the most common isotope has about 121 neutrons.

See the ionic charge of every element →

How this page was produced. The configuration was built by filling orbitals in energy order from atomic number 80 alone, not looked up. The shell counts, the valence count and the charge all follow from it. Nothing on this page is written per element.