Let’s break down each question about the complex ([RhCl_6]^{3-}):<\/p>\n\n\n\n
a) Oxidation State of Rhodium in the Complex<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The complex is ([RhCl_6]^{3-}). Chlorine (Cl) is a monodentate ligand and typically carries a charge of -1. Since there are six chloride ions, the total charge contributed by the ligands is (6 \\times (-1) = -6). The overall charge of the complex is (-3).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To find the oxidation state of Rh, we set up the equation:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
[
\\text{Oxidation state of Rh} + \\text{Charge of chloride ligands} = \\text{Charge of complex}
]<\/p>\n\n\n\n
[
x + (-6) = -3
]<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Solving for (x):<\/p>\n\n\n\n
[
x = +3
]<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thus, the oxidation state of Rh in the complex is (+3).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
b) Electron Configuration of the Metal Cation (Rh(^{3+}))<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The atomic electron configuration of neutral Rhodium (Rh) is:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
[
[Kr] 4d^8 5s^1
]<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For the Rh(^{3+}) cation, it has lost 3 electrons. Typically, the 5s orbital loses electrons first, followed by the 4d orbital. Removing three electrons would result in:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
[
[Kr] 4d^6
]<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thus, the electron configuration of Rh(^{3+}) is ([Kr] 4d^6).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
c) Number of Unpaired Electrons in the Complex Ion<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Rhodium has a (+3) oxidation state, and its electron configuration in the 4d orbital is (4d^6). In a coordination complex, the ligands influence the splitting of the d-orbitals, creating two sets of energy levels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For the ([RhCl_6]^{3-}) complex, chloride is a weak field ligand, meaning it does not cause a strong splitting of the d-orbitals. Therefore, in this case, we would expect the electrons to occupy the higher energy orbitals first, resulting in unpaired electrons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For a (d^6) configuration in a weak field, we typically expect 2 unpaired electrons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thus, the number of unpaired electrons in the complex is 2<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The complex ([RhCl_6]^{3-}) consists of six chloride ions arranged around a central Rh(^{3+}) ion. With six ligands, the complex adopts an octahedral geometry<\/strong>, which is the most common shape for a 6-coordinate complex.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In an octahedral field, the (d)-orbitals split into two sets: (e_g) (higher energy) and (t_{2g}) (lower energy). Since chloride is a weak field ligand, it does not cause strong splitting, leading to unpaired electrons in the higher-energy (e_g) orbitals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Below is an image showing the electron arrangement in an octahedral field for Rh(^{3+}), considering the (4d^6) configuration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I will generate the image to show the electron arrangement in the complex.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The image above shows the octahedral complex ([RhCl_6]^{3-}) with Rh(^{3+}) in the center and six chloride ions surrounding it. The electron configuration of Rh(^{3+}) is (4d^6), and in this weak field complex, the electrons are arranged with two unpaired electrons in the higher-energy (e_g) orbitals and the rest paired in the lower-energy (t_{2g}) orbitals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let me know if you’d like further clarifications!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Answer the following questions about the complex [RhCl6]3\u2212, where Rh is rhodium [Kr]4d84s1. a Deduce the oxidation state of rhodium in the complex ion. b Deduce the electron configuration of the metal cation. c Deduce the number of unpaired electrons present in the complex ion. d State the shape of the complex and show the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-191707","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-exams-certification"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/191707","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=191707"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/191707\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=191707"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=191707"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=191707"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}d) Shape of the Complex and Electron Arrangement<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/image-637.png\")
<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"