An Overview on Valence Electrons Work

Valence electrons are those electrons that are found in the outermost shell of an atom and are responsible for its valence. In other words, these are the electrons that can be gained or lost as a result of a chemical reaction taking place.

The electrons in the outermost shell, known as valence electrons, are the only ones that can undergo changes in the atomic structure, regardless of the type of chemical bond that exists between atoms, such as an ionic, covalent, or metallic bond.

The most fundamental method would be to refer to an element’s atomic configuration and simply count the number of electrons in the outermost shell. However, this would be a very time-consuming task, as we may have to sift through textbooks in order to find configurations that we are unfamiliar with.

The presence of valence electrons can influence the chemical properties of an element, such as its valence—whether or not it can form chemical bonds with other elements, and if so, how readily and with how many other elements. In this way, the reactivity of a given element is highly dependent on the electronic configuration of the element. A valence electron can only exist in the outermost electron shell of a main-group element ; however, a valence electron can also exist in the innermost electron shell of a transition metal, whereas a main-group element cannot.

Chemical reaction:

In terms of metallic elements, the most reactive type is an alkali metal of group 1 (for example, sodium or potassium), which is due to the fact that such an atom has only one valence electron. This one valence electron is easily lost during the formation of an ionic bond, which provides the necessary ionisation energy, resulting in the formation of a positive ion (cation) with a closed shell (e.g., Na+ or K+) with a closed shell. A group 2 alkaline earth metal (for example, magnesium) is slightly less reactive than a group 1 alkaline earth metal because each atom must lose two valence electrons in order to form a positive ion with a closed shell (for example, Mg2+).

Metals are more reactive within each group (each periodic table column) as one moves down the table (from a light element to a heavier element). This is because a heavier element has more electron shells than a lighter element; a heavier element’s valence electrons have higher principal quantum numbers than a lighter element’s valence electrons (they are farther away from the nucleus of the atom, and are thus at higher potential energies, which means they are less tightly bound).

Towards completion of the valence shell of a nonmetal atom, it has a strong tendency to attract additional valence electrons; this can be accomplished in one of two ways: In order to form a covalent bond, an atom must first share electrons with a neighbouring atom (a covalent bond), and then remove electrons from another atom (a covalent bond) (an ionic bond). A halogen element (for example, fluorine (F) or chlorine (Cl)) is the most reactive type of nonmetal element. An atom with this electron configuration has the following electron configuration: ns2np5; only one additional valence electron is required to complete the formation of a closed shell in this configuration. The formation of an ionic bond requires the removal of an electron from another atom, which results in the formation of an anion (e.g., F2, Cl2, etc.). If you want to form a covalent bond, you must share one electron from the halogen with one electron from another element to form a shared pair (for example, in the molecule H–F, where the line represents a shared pair of valence electrons consisting of one electron from H and one from F).

Conclusion:

A valence electron is an electron that is linked with an atom and that has the potential to participate in the formation of a chemical bond with that atom. In other words, these are the electrons that can be gained or lost as a result of a chemical reaction taking place.

The most fundamental method would be to refer to an element’s atomic configuration and simply count the number of electrons in the outermost shell.The presence of valence electrons can influence the chemical properties of an element, such as its valence—whether or not it can form chemical bonds with other elements. A valence electron can only exist in the outermost electron shell of a main-group element. 

In terms of metallic elements, the most reactive type is an alkali metal of group 1 (for example, sodium or potassium), which is due to the fact that such an atom has only one valence electron.Metals are more reactive within each group (each periodic table column) as one moves down the table (from a light element to a heavier element).In order to form a covalent bond, an atom must first share electrons with a neighbouring atom (a covalent bond), and then remove electrons from another atom.