Bismuth ground state electronic configuration

Bismuth, Bi, the 83rd element of the periodic table is the most metallic and the least abundant of the elements in the nitrogen family (group 15). It has an atomic mass of 208.980 and a ground state electronic configuration of [Xe] 4f 5d %s 6p. The bismuth atom usually utilizes the three 6p electrons in bond formation and retains the two 6s electrons as an inert pair, hence the oxidation state -1-3 exhibited by bismuth in the vast majority of its compounds. However, a variety of organobismuth compounds can contain the element in the -1-5 oxidation state. Coordination numbers are 2, 3,4, 5 and 6. Bismuth not only has metallic characteristics but also exhibits many properties similar to those of semiconductors and insulators. Consequently, it is often classified as a semi-metal or metalloid. Bismuth compounds are usually colorless unless the metal is bound to a chromophore. 

Thus, the main relativistic effects are (1) the radical contraction and energetic stabilization of the s and p orbitals which in turn induce the radial expansion and energetic destabilization of the outer d and f orbitals, and (2) the well-known spin-orbit splitting. These effects will be pronounced upon going from As to Sb to Bi. Associated with effect (1), it is interesting to note that the Bi atom has a tendency to form compounds in which Bi is trivalent with the 6s 6p valence configuration. For this tendency of the 6s electron pair to remain formally unoxidized in bismuth compounds (i.e. core-like nature of the 6s electrons), the term inert pair effect or nonhybridization effect has been often used for a reasonable explanation. In this context, the relatively inert 4s pair of the As atom (compared with the 5s pair of Sb) may be ascribed to the stabilization due to the d-block contraction , rather than effect (1) . On the other hand, effect (2) plays an important role in the electronic and spectroscopic properties of atoms and molecules especially in the open-shell states. It not only splits the electronic states but also mixes the states which would not mix in the absence of spin-orbit interaction. As an example, it was calculated that even the ground state ( 2 " ) of Bij is 25% contaminated by Hg. In the Pauli Hamiltonian approximation there is one more relativistic effect called the Dawin term. This will tend to counteract partially the mass-velocity effect. 

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