Based on the electron configuration of sulfur, S, a sulfur atom will gain or lose how many valence electrons when bonding with lithium?

1 Answer
anor277
Jan 9, 2017

With a metal, sulfur acts as an oxidizing agent, i.e. it formally accepts electrons.............

Explanation:

#2Li + S rarr Li_(2)S#

And if we wanted to (which we do) we could split this up into half equations:

#2Li rarr 2Li^(+) + 2e^(-)# #"Oxidation"#

#S+2e^(-) rarr S^(2-)# #"Reduction"#

And in terms of electron configuration, sulfur gains 2 valence electrons to give 8 valence electrons.

And lithium loses 1 valence electron to give a #[He]^+# core.

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