Polonium (Po)

Element 84 · reactive nonmetal · group 16, period 6

• 84 protons
• 6 valence e−
• +4, +2
• p-block

Properties

Electron configuration of polonium

Orbitals fill from the lowest energy upward. Writing that out for polonium gives 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p⁶ 3d¹⁰ 4s² 4p⁶ 4d¹⁰ 4f¹⁴ 5s² 5p⁶ 5d¹⁰ 6s² 6p⁴, which is 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 3d10 4s2 4p6 4d10 4f14 5s2 5p6 5d10 6s2 6p4 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 6p⁴. The part outside the bracket is what does the chemistry.

Polonium ion charge

Polonium commonly forms ions with a charge of +4, +2.

It has 6 valence electrons, so it is 2 short of a full octet and 6 above an empty outer shell. An atom takes whichever route is shorter, which is why the charge comes out as it does.

Common questions

How many valence electrons does polonium have?

Polonium has 6 valence electrons. For a main-group element the count is the group number minus 10, and polonium is in group 16.

What is the electron configuration of polonium?

1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 3d10 4s2 4p6 4d10 4f14 5s2 5p6 5d10 6s2 6p4, or [Xe] 4f14 5d10 6s2 6p4 written from the previous noble gas. Orbitals fill lowest energy first.

What is the charge of polonium?

Polonium commonly forms ions with a charge of +4, +2. With 6 valence electrons it is 2 short of an octet and 6 above an empty shell, so it takes whichever route is shorter.

How many protons, electrons and neutrons does polonium have?

A neutral polonium atom has 84 protons and 84 electrons. Its standard atomic weight is 209, so the most common isotope has about 125 neutrons.

Nearby elements

• Tellurium (Te)above it in group 16
• Livermorium (Lv)below it in group 16
• Bismuth (Bi)one place to its left
• Astatine (At)one place to its right
• Oxygen (O)same group, same valence count
• Sulfur (S)same group, same valence count

See the ionic charge of every element →