Question

Is copper a ferromagnetic material?

Answer 1

Hint: The materials that can be attracted or repelled in the presence of the external magnetic field or getting magnetized by themselves are called magnetic materials. On the basis of their magnetic properties, these magnetic materials can be classified into three types. They are diamagnetic, paramagnetic, ferromagnetic materials.

Complete answer:
We have seen the classification of magnetic materials. The meaning for each classification is that the diamagnetic materials are weakly repelled by the magnet and the paramagnetic materials are attracted by the magnets and the magnetic fields.
To understand whether the copper is diamagnetic or paramagnetic or ferromagnetic we need to understand its electronic configuration. The electronic configuration of copper is given below.
Rearranged form: \[1{s^2}2{s^2}2{p^6}3{s^2}3{p^6}4{s^1}3{d^{10}}\]
Copper cannot be ferromagnetic. For metals to be ferromagnetic they should have an unpaired electron. So that they have unpaired spins. Because copper has a full \[3d\] shell therefore it does not have an unpaired electron and therefore it cannot be ferromagnetic material.
Therefore the answer to the above-given question is that copper is not a ferromagnetic material.

Additional Information:
A substance having unpaired electrons then the substance is said to have a paramagnetic magnetic property. From the above electronic configuration, we can see that copper has an unpaired electron so copper must be paramagnetic in nature. But to get better stability one electron from the s-shell moves to d-shell.
\[1{s^2}2{s^2}2{p^6}3{s^2}3{p^6}4{s^2}3{d^9}\]
\[1{s^2}2{s^2}2{p^6}3{s^2}3{p^6}4{s^1}3{d^{10}}\]
Although now the s-shell will have an unpaired electron. When moving from one shell to the other copper achieves better stability. The \[3d\] shell will have symmetrical charge distribution. To be diamagnetic the metal should have paired electrons. And now the copper has achieved paired electrons in the outer shell. Because of this, copper has achieved stability in many folds. Therefore the absence of only one electron cannot complete in any manner. Because of this reason the copper is diamagnetic and not paramagnetic.

Note:
Copper will weakly repel the external magnetic field. The moment when the external magnetic field is removed this magnetism usually fades away. However, if the external magnetic field is too strong the magnetism will remain even after a few days after the external magnetic field is removed. So therefore copper itself is not a magnetic material but it interacts with magnets to some extent. It is this interaction that is used to generate electricity in power plants.