Question

According to the database of ionic radius Database of ionic radius The ionic radius of silver(I) cation is totally smaller than potassium(I), regardless of their coordination number. It seems quite contradictory to me as potassium(I) possesses argon electron configuration which is in third shell. While silver(I) valent electron belong to the fourth shell What is probably the reason for this issue?

Answer 1

The smaller ionic radius of silver(I) cation compared to potassium(I) cation can be explained by the effective nuclear charge and the electron configuration. Despite having electrons in a higher principal shell, silver(I) experiences a greater effective nuclear charge and the removal of the 4s electron, resulting in a smaller ionic radius.

Step-by-step explanation:

The reason for the smaller ionic radius of silver(I) cation compared to potassium(I) cation is due to the effective nuclear charge and the electron configuration. When electrons are removed from the outer valence shell, the remaining core electrons experience a greater effective nuclear charge and are drawn closer to the nucleus, resulting in a smaller ionic radius.

Despite the fact that potassium(I) has electrons in a higher principal shell (fourth shell) than silver(I) (third shell), the effective nuclear charge and the removal of the 4s electron in silver(I) result in a smaller ionic radius.