Phosphorus

Properties of phosphorus atoms

Ionisation Energies and electron affinity

The electron affinity of phosphorus is 72  kJ mol^-1. The ionisation energies of phosphorus are given below.

Electronic configuration

The following represents the electronic configuration and its associated term symbol for the ground state neutral gaseous atom. The configuration associated with phosphorus in its compounds is not necessarily the same.

• Ground state electron configuration:  [Ne].3s².3p³
• Shell structure:  2.8.5
• Term symbol:   ⁴S_3/2

A schematic representation of the shell structure of phosphorus - not what the atom of phosphorus "looks like".

WebElements Shop

WebElements now has a WebElements shop at which you can buy periodic table posters, mugs, T-shirts, games, molecular models, and more.