Tantalum

Properties of tantalum atoms

Ionisation Energies and electron affinity

The electron affinity of tantalum is 31  kJ mol^-1. The ionisation energies of tantalum 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 tantalum in its compounds is not necessarily the same.

• Ground state electron configuration:  [Xe].4f¹⁴.5d³.6s²
• Shell structure:  2.8.18.32.11.2
• Term symbol:   ⁴F_3/2

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

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