Question

What is the electron configuration of a neutral rhodium atom?

Answer 1

Hint: The element Rhodium whose symbol is $Rh$ and has atomic number $45$. Rhodium is of silvery white form in nature and corrosion resistant. Rhodium is chemically inert as it is one of the noble metals of the PGM group.

Complete answer:
In nature, Rhodium occurs mostly as a free metal or in other metal ores. Rhodium is inert and is one of the rarest and most precious metals. The word Rhodium is derived from the Greek word ‘$Rhodon$’ which means ‘rose-coloured’. It was first discovered by British scientist William Hyde Wollaston and chemist Smithson Tennant in\[1803\].
Wollaston found Rhodium in a Platinum ore, which he procured from South America, which contained platinum, palladium and rhodium. He then subjected the ore to complex chemical processes using other compounds like ammonium chloride, zinc and sodium hydroxide to finally filter out the rhodium as a free metal. It got its name due to its rose-coloured appearance.
The atomic number of rhodium is \[45\], which means it has \[45\] protons in its nucleus. In the neutral state, the number of electrons will also be \[45\]. As the noble gas Krypton has atomic number\[\;36\]so its electronic configuration will have nine more electrons to have\[45\].
So the electronic configuration of $Rh$(rhodium) is:
$Rh = \left[ {Kr} \right]4{d^8}5{s^1}$

Note:
Rhodium was not a very popular element at the time of its discovery but in \[100\] years, scientists started using this metal in various experiments which needed high temperatures. The most important uses of rhodium started in\[\;1970\], when it was first used inside catalytic converters to reduce the pollutant level.