Transition metal

Last updated

In chemistry, a transition metal (or transition element) is a chemical element in the d-block of the periodic table (groups 3 to 12), though the elements of group 12 (and less often group 3) are sometimes excluded. The lanthanide and actinide elements (the f-block) are called inner transition metals and are sometimes considered to be transition metals as well.

Contents

Since they are metals, they are lustrous and have good electrical and thermal conductivity. Most (with the exception of group 11 and group 12) are hard and strong, and have high melting and boiling temperatures. They form compounds in any of two or more different oxidation states and bind to a variety of ligands to form coordination complexes that are often coloured. They form many useful alloys and are often employed as catalysts in elemental form or in compounds such as coordination complexes and oxides. Most are strongly paramagnetic because of their unpaired d electrons, as are many of their compounds. All of the elements that are ferromagnetic near room temperature are transition metals (iron, cobalt and nickel) or inner transition metals (gadolinium).

English chemist Charles Rugeley Bury (1890–1968) first used the word transition in this context in 1921, when he referred to a transition series of elements during the change of an inner layer of electrons (for example n = 3 in the 4th row of the periodic table) from a stable group of 8 to one of 18, or from 18 to 32. [1] [2] [3] These elements are now known as the d-block.

The first row of transition metals, in order First row of transition metals.jpg
The first row of transition metals, in order

Definition and classification

The 2011 IUPAC Principles of Chemical Nomenclature describe a "transition metal" as any element in groups 3 to 12 on the periodic table. [4] This corresponds exactly to the d-block elements, and many scientists use this definition. [5] [6] In actual practice, the f-block lanthanide and actinide series are called "inner transition metals". The 2005 Red Book allows for the group 12 elements to be excluded, but not the 2011 Principles. [7]

The IUPAC Gold Book [8] defines a transition metal as "an element whose atom has a partially filled d sub-shell, or which can give rise to cations with an incomplete d sub-shell", but this definition is taken from an old edition of the Red Book and is no longer present in the current edition. [7]

In the d-block, the atoms of the elements have between zero and ten d electrons.

Transition metals in the d-block
Group 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Period 4 21 Sc 22 Ti 23 V 24 Cr 25 Mn 26 Fe 27 Co 28 Ni 29 Cu 30 Zn
5 39 Y 40 Zr 41 Nb 42 Mo 43 Tc 44 Ru 45 Rh 46 Pd 47 Ag 48 Cd
6 71 Lu 72 Hf 73 Ta 74 W 75 Re 76 Os 77 Ir 78 Pt 79 Au 80 Hg
7 103 Lr 104 Rf 105 Db 106 Sg 107 Bh 108 Hs 109 Mt 110 Ds 111 Rg 112 Cn

Published texts and periodic tables show variation regarding the heavier members of group 3. [9] The common placement of lanthanum and actinium in these positions is not supported by physical, chemical, and electronic evidence, [10] [11] [12] which overwhelmingly favour putting lutetium and lawrencium in those places. [13] [14] Some authors prefer to leave the spaces below yttrium blank as a third option, but there is confusion on whether this format implies that group 3 contains only scandium and yttrium, or if it also contains all the lanthanides and actinides; [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] additionally, it creates a 15-element-wide f-block, when quantum mechanics dictates that the f-block should only be 14 elements wide. [15] The form with lutetium and lawrencium in group 3 is supported by a 1988 IUPAC report on physical, chemical, and electronic grounds, [20] and again by a 2021 IUPAC preliminary report as it is the only form that allows simultaneous (1) preservation of the sequence of increasing atomic numbers, (2) a 14-element-wide f-block, and (3) avoidance of the split in the d-block. [15] Argumentation can still be found in the contemporary literature purporting to defend the form with lanthanum and actinium in group 3, but many authors consider it to be logically inconsistent (a particular point of contention being the differing treatment of actinium and thorium, which both can use 5f as a valence orbital but have no 5f occupancy as single atoms); [14] [21] [22] the majority of investigators considering the problem agree with the updated form with lutetium and lawrencium. [14]

The group 12 elements zinc, cadmium, and mercury are sometimes excluded from the transition metals. [1] This is because they have the electronic configuration [ ]d10s2, where the d shell is complete, [23] and they still have a complete d shell in all their known oxidation states. The group 12 elements Zn, Cd and Hg may therefore, under certain criteria, be classed as post-transition metals in this case. However, it is often convenient to include these elements in a discussion of the transition elements. For example, when discussing the crystal field stabilization energy of first-row transition elements, it is convenient to also include the elements calcium and zinc, as both Ca2+
and Zn2+
have a value of zero, against which the value for other transition metal ions may be compared. Another example occurs in the Irving–Williams series of stability constants of complexes. Moreover, Zn, Cd, and Hg can use their d orbitals for bonding even though they are not known in oxidation states that would formally require breaking open the d-subshell, which sets them apart from the p-block elements. [24] [25] [26]

The recent (though disputed and so far not reproduced independently) synthesis of mercury(IV) fluoride (HgF
4
) has been taken by some to reinforce the view that the group 12 elements should be considered transition metals, [27] but some authors still consider this compound to be exceptional. [28] Copernicium is expected to be able to use its d electrons for chemistry as its 6d subshell is destabilised by strong relativistic effects due to its very high atomic number, and as such is expected to have transition-metal-like behaviour and show higher oxidation states than +2 (which are not definitely known for the lighter group 12 elements). Even in bare dications, Cn2+ is predicted to be 6d87s2, unlike Hg2+ which is 5d106s0.

Although meitnerium, darmstadtium, and roentgenium are within the d-block and are expected to behave as transition metals analogous to their lighter congeners iridium, platinum, and gold, this has not yet been experimentally confirmed. Whether copernicium behaves more like mercury or has properties more similar to those of the noble gas radon is not clear. Relative inertness of Cn would come from the relativistically expanded 7s–7p1/2 energy gap, which is already adumbrated in the 6s–6p1/2 gap for Hg, weakening metallic bonding and causing its well-known low melting and boiling points.

Early transition metals are on the left side of the periodic table from group 3 to group 7. Late transition metals are on the right side of the d-block, from group 8 to 11 (and 12 if it is counted as transition metals).

The heavy group 2 elements calcium, strontium, and barium do not have filled d-orbitals as single atoms, but are known to have d-orbital bonding participation in some compounds, and for that reason have been called "honorary" transition metals. [29] Probably the same is true of radium. [30]

The f-block elements La–Yb and Ac–No have chemical activity of the (n−1)d shell, but importantly also have chemical activity of the (n−2)f shell that is absent in d-block elements. Hence they are often treated separately as inner transition elements.

Electronic configuration

The general electronic configuration of the d-block atoms is [noble gas](n  1)d0–10ns0–2np0–1. Here "[noble gas]" is the electronic configuration of the last noble gas preceding the atom in question, and n is the highest principal quantum number of an occupied orbital in that atom. For example, Ti (Z = 22) is in period 4 so that n = 4, the first 18 electrons have the same configuration of Ar at the end of period 3, and the overall configuration is [Ar]3d24s2. The period 6 and 7 transition metals also add core (n  2)f14 electrons, which are omitted from the tables below. The p orbitals are almost never filled in free atoms (the one exception being lawrencium due to relativistic effects that become important at such high Z), but they can contribute to the chemical bonding in transition metal compounds.

The Madelung rule predicts that the inner d orbital is filled after the valence-shell s orbital. The typical electronic structure of transition metal atoms is then written as [noble gas]ns2(n  1)dm. This rule is approximate, but holds for most of the transition metals. Even when it fails for the neutral ground state, it accurately describes a low-lying excited state.

The d subshell is the next-to-last subshell and is denoted as (n − 1)d subshell. The number of s electrons in the outermost s subshell is generally one or two except palladium (Pd), with no electron in that s sub shell in its ground state. The s subshell in the valence shell is represented as the ns subshell, e.g. 4s. In the periodic table, the transition metals are present in ten groups (3 to 12).

The elements in group 3 have an ns2(n  1)d1 configuration, except for lawrencium (Lr): its 7s27p1 configuration exceptionally does not fill the 6d orbitals at all. The first transition series is present in the 4th period, and starts after Ca (Z = 20) of group 2 with the configuration [Ar]4s2, or scandium (Sc), the first element of group 3 with atomic number Z = 21 and configuration [Ar]4s23d1, depending on the definition used. As we move from left to right, electrons are added to the same d subshell till it is complete. Since the electrons added fill the (n − 1)d orbitals, the properties of the d-block elements are quite different from those of s and p block elements in which the filling occurs either in s or in p orbitals of the valence shell. The electronic configuration of the individual elements present in all the d-block series are given below: [31]

First (3d) d-block Series (Sc–Zn)
Group3456789101112
Atomic number21222324252627282930
ElementScTiVCrMnFeCoNiCuZn
Electron
configuration
3d14s23d24s23d34s23d54s13d54s23d64s23d74s23d84s23d104s13d104s2
Second (4d) d-block Series (Y–Cd)
Atomic number39404142434445464748
ElementYZrNbMoTcRuRhPdAgCd
Electron
configuration
4d15s24d25s24d45s14d55s14d55s24d75s14d85s14d105s04d105s14d105s2
Third (5d) d-block Series (Lu–Hg)
Atomic number71727374757677787980
ElementLuHfTaWReOsIrPtAuHg
Electron
configuration
5d16s25d26s25d36s25d46s25d56s25d66s25d76s25d96s15d106s15d106s2
Fourth (6d) d-block Series (Lr–Cn)
(Configurations predicted for Mt–Cn)
Atomic number103104105106107108109110111112
ElementLrRfDbSgBhHsMtDsRgCn
Electron
configuration
7s27p16d27s26d37s26d47s26d57s26d67s26d77s26d87s26d97s26d107s2

A careful look at the electronic configuration of the elements reveals that there are certain exceptions to the Madelung rule. For Cr as an example the rule predicts the configuration 3d44s2, but the observed atomic spectra show that the real ground state is 3d54s1. To explain such exceptions, it is necessary to consider the effects of increasing nuclear charge on the orbital energies, as well as the electron–electron interactions including both Coulomb repulsion and exchange energy. [31] The exceptions are in any case not very relevant for chemistry because the energy difference between them and the expected configuration is always quite low. [32]

The (n − 1)d orbitals that are involved in the transition metals are very significant because they influence such properties as magnetic character, variable oxidation states, formation of coloured compounds etc. The valence s and p orbitals (ns and np) have very little contribution in this regard since they hardly change in the moving from left to the right in a transition series. In transition metals, there are greater horizontal similarities in the properties of the elements in a period in comparison to the periods in which the d orbitals are not involved. This is because in a transition series, the valence shell electronic configuration of the elements do not change. However, there are some group similarities as well.

Characteristic properties

There are a number of properties shared by the transition elements that are not found in other elements, which results from the partially filled d shell. These include

Most transition metals can be bound to a variety of ligands, allowing for a wide variety of transition metal complexes. [34]

Coloured compounds

From left to right, aqueous solutions of: Co(NO
3)
2 (red); K
2Cr
2O
7 (orange); K
2CrO
4 (yellow); NiCl
2 (turquoise); CuSO
4 (blue); KMnO
4 (purple). Coloured-transition-metal-solutions.jpg
From left to right, aqueous solutions of: Co(NO
3
)
2
(red); K
2
Cr
2
O
7
(orange); K
2
CrO
4
(yellow); NiCl
2
(turquoise); CuSO
4
(blue); KMnO
4
(purple).

Colour in transition-series metal compounds is generally due to electronic transitions of two principal types.

A metal-to-ligand charge transfer (MLCT) transition will be most likely when the metal is in a low oxidation state and the ligand is easily reduced.

In general charge transfer transitions result in more intense colours than d–d transitions.

In centrosymmetric complexes, such as octahedral complexes, d–d transitions are forbidden by the Laporte rule and only occur because of vibronic coupling in which a molecular vibration occurs together with a d–d transition. Tetrahedral complexes have somewhat more intense colour because mixing d and p orbitals is possible when there is no centre of symmetry, so transitions are not pure d–d transitions. The molar absorptivity (ε) of bands caused by d–d transitions are relatively low, roughly in the range 5-500 M−1cm−1 (where M = mol dm−3). [35] Some d–d transitions are spin forbidden. An example occurs in octahedral, high-spin complexes of manganese(II), which has a d5 configuration in which all five electrons have parallel spins; the colour of such complexes is much weaker than in complexes with spin-allowed transitions. Many compounds of manganese(II) appear almost colourless. The spectrum of [Mn(H
2
O)
6
]2+
shows a maximum molar absorptivity of about 0.04 M−1cm−1 in the visible spectrum.

Oxidation states

A characteristic of transition metals is that they exhibit two or more oxidation states, usually differing by one. For example, compounds of vanadium are known in all oxidation states between −1, such as [V(CO)
6
]
, and +5, such as VO3−
4
.

Oxidation states of the transition metals. The solid dots show common oxidation states, and the hollow dots show possible but unlikely states. Transition metal oxidation states.svg
Oxidation states of the transition metals. The solid dots show common oxidation states, and the hollow dots show possible but unlikely states.

Main-group elements in groups 13 to 18 also exhibit multiple oxidation states. The "common" oxidation states of these elements typically differ by two instead of one. For example, compounds of gallium in oxidation states +1 and +3 exist in which there is a single gallium atom. Compounds of Ga(II) would have an unpaired electron and would behave as a free radical and generally be destroyed rapidly, but some stable radicals of Ga(II) are known. [36] Gallium also has a formal oxidation state of +2 in dimeric compounds, such as [Ga
2
Cl
6
]2−
, which contain a Ga-Ga bond formed from the unpaired electron on each Ga atom. [37] Thus the main difference in oxidation states, between transition elements and other elements is that oxidation states are known in which there is a single atom of the element and one or more unpaired electrons.

The maximum oxidation state in the first row transition metals is equal to the number of valence electrons from titanium (+4) up to manganese (+7), but decreases in the later elements. In the second row, the maximum occurs with ruthenium (+8), and in the third row, the maximum occurs with iridium (+9). In compounds such as [MnO
4
]
and OsO
4
, the elements achieve a stable configuration by covalent bonding.

The lowest oxidation states are exhibited in metal carbonyl complexes such as Cr(CO)
6
(oxidation state zero) and [Fe(CO)
4
]2−
(oxidation state −2) in which the 18-electron rule is obeyed. These complexes are also covalent.

Ionic compounds are mostly formed with oxidation states +2 and +3. In aqueous solution, the ions are hydrated by (usually) six water molecules arranged octahedrally.

Magnetism

Transition metal compounds are paramagnetic when they have one or more unpaired d electrons. [38] In octahedral complexes with between four and seven d electrons both high spin and low spin states are possible. Tetrahedral transition metal complexes such as [FeCl
4
]2−
are high spin because the crystal field splitting is small so that the energy to be gained by virtue of the electrons being in lower energy orbitals is always less than the energy needed to pair up the spins. Some compounds are diamagnetic. These include octahedral, low-spin, d6 and square-planar d8 complexes. In these cases, crystal field splitting is such that all the electrons are paired up.

Ferromagnetism occurs when individual atoms are paramagnetic and the spin vectors are aligned parallel to each other in a crystalline material. Metallic iron and the alloy alnico are examples of ferromagnetic materials involving transition metals. Antiferromagnetism is another example of a magnetic property arising from a particular alignment of individual spins in the solid state.

Catalytic properties

The transition metals and their compounds are known for their homogeneous and heterogeneous catalytic activity. This activity is ascribed to their ability to adopt multiple oxidation states and to form complexes. Vanadium(V) oxide (in the contact process), finely divided iron (in the Haber process), and nickel (in catalytic hydrogenation) are some of the examples. Catalysts at a solid surface (nanomaterial-based catalysts) involve the formation of bonds between reactant molecules and atoms of the surface of the catalyst (first row transition metals utilize 3d and 4s electrons for bonding). This has the effect of increasing the concentration of the reactants at the catalyst surface and also weakening of the bonds in the reacting molecules (the activation energy is lowered). Also because the transition metal ions can change their oxidation states, they become more effective as catalysts.

An interesting type of catalysis occurs when the products of a reaction catalyse the reaction producing more catalyst (autocatalysis). One example is the reaction of oxalic acid with acidified potassium permanganate (or manganate (VII)). [39] Once a little Mn2+ has been produced, it can react with MnO4 forming Mn3+. This then reacts with C2O4 ions forming Mn2+ again.

Physical properties

As implied by the name, all transition metals are metals and thus conductors of electricity.

In general, transition metals possess a high density and high melting points and boiling points. These properties are due to metallic bonding by delocalized d electrons, leading to cohesion which increases with the number of shared electrons. However the group 12 metals have much lower melting and boiling points since their full d subshells prevent d–d bonding, which again tends to differentiate them from the accepted transition metals. Mercury has a melting point of −38.83 °C (−37.89 °F) and is a liquid at room temperature.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alkali metal</span> Group of highly reactive chemical elements

The alkali metals consist of the chemical elements lithium (Li), sodium (Na), potassium (K), rubidium (Rb), caesium (Cs), and francium (Fr). Together with hydrogen they constitute group 1, which lies in the s-block of the periodic table. All alkali metals have their outermost electron in an s-orbital: this shared electron configuration results in their having very similar characteristic properties. Indeed, the alkali metals provide the best example of group trends in properties in the periodic table, with elements exhibiting well-characterised homologous behaviour. This family of elements is also known as the lithium family after its leading element.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coordination complex</span> Molecule or ion containing ligands datively bonded to a central metallic atom

A coordination complex is a chemical compound consisting of a central atom or ion, which is usually metallic and is called the coordination centre, and a surrounding array of bound molecules or ions, that are in turn known as ligands or complexing agents. Many metal-containing compounds, especially those that include transition metals, are coordination complexes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lawrencium</span> Chemical element, symbol Lr and atomic number 103

Lawrencium is a synthetic chemical element; it has symbol Lr and atomic number 103. It is named in honor of Ernest Lawrence, inventor of the cyclotron, a device that was used to discover many artificial radioactive elements. A radioactive metal, lawrencium is the eleventh transuranic element and the last member of the actinide series. Like all elements with atomic number over 100, lawrencium can only be produced in particle accelerators by bombarding lighter elements with charged particles. Fourteen isotopes of lawrencium are currently known; the most stable is 266Lr with half-life 11 hours, but the shorter-lived 260Lr is most commonly used in chemistry because it can be produced on a larger scale.

The lanthanide or lanthanoid series of chemical elements comprises at least the 14 metallic chemical elements with atomic numbers 57–70, from lanthanum through ytterbium. In the periodic table, they fill the 4f orbitals. Lutetium is also sometimes considered a lanthanide, despite being a d-block element and a transition metal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Periodic table</span> Tabular arrangement of the chemical elements ordered by atomic number

The periodic table, also known as the periodic table of the elements, arranges the chemical elements into rows ("periods") and columns ("groups"). It is an icon of chemistry and is widely used in physics and other sciences. It is a depiction of the periodic law, which says that when the elements are arranged in order of their atomic numbers an approximate recurrence of their properties is evident. The table is divided into four roughly rectangular areas called blocks. Elements in the same group tend to show similar chemical characteristics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ionization energy</span> Energy needed to remove an electron

In physics and chemistry, ionization energy (IE) (American English spelling), ionisation energy (British English spelling) is the minimum energy required to remove the most loosely bound electron of an isolated gaseous atom, positive ion, or molecule. The first ionization energy is quantitatively expressed as

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electron configuration</span> Mode of arrangement of electrons in different shells of an atom

In atomic physics and quantum chemistry, the electron configuration is the distribution of electrons of an atom or molecule in atomic or molecular orbitals. For example, the electron configuration of the neon atom is 1s2 2s2 2p6, meaning that the 1s, 2s and 2p subshells are occupied by 2, 2 and 6 electrons respectively.

An extended periodic table theorises about chemical elements beyond those currently known in the periodic table and proven. The element with the highest atomic number known is oganesson (Z = 118), which completes the seventh period (row) in the periodic table. All elements in the eighth period and beyond thus remain purely hypothetical.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Group (periodic table)</span> Column of elements in the periodic table of the chemical elements

In chemistry, a group is a column of elements in the periodic table of the chemical elements. There are 18 numbered groups in the periodic table; the 14 f-block columns, between groups 2 and 3, are not numbered. The elements in a group have similar physical or chemical characteristics of the outermost electron shells of their atoms, because most chemical properties are dominated by the orbital location of the outermost electron.

A period 7 element is one of the chemical elements in the seventh row of the periodic table of the chemical elements. The periodic table is laid out in rows to illustrate recurring (periodic) trends in the chemical behavior of the elements as their atomic number increases: a new row is begun when chemical behavior begins to repeat, meaning that elements with similar behavior fall into the same vertical columns. The seventh period contains 32 elements, tied for the most with period 6, beginning with francium and ending with oganesson, the heaviest element currently discovered. As a rule, period 7 elements fill their 7s shells first, then their 5f, 6d, and 7p shells in that order, but there are exceptions, such as uranium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Octet rule</span> Chemical rule of thumb

The octet rule is a chemical rule of thumb that reflects the theory that main-group elements tend to bond in such a way that each atom has eight electrons in its valence shell, giving it the same electronic configuration as a noble gas. The rule is especially applicable to carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and the halogens; although more generally the rule is applicable for the s-block and p-block of the periodic table. Other rules exist for other elements, such as the duplet rule for hydrogen and helium, and the 18-electron rule for transition metals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Group 3 element</span> Group of chemical elements

Group 3 is the first group of transition metals in the periodic table. This group is closely related to the rare-earth elements. It contains the four elements scandium (Sc), yttrium (Y), lutetium (Lu), and lawrencium (Lr). The group is also called the scandium group or scandium family after its lightest member.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Valence electron</span> An electron in the outer shell of an atoms energy levels

In chemistry and physics, valence electrons are electrons in the outermost shell of an atom, and that can participate in the formation of a chemical bond if the outermost shell is not closed. In a single covalent bond, a shared pair forms with both atoms in the bond each contributing one valence electron.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aufbau principle</span> Principle of atomic physics

The Aufbau principle, also called the Aufbau rule, states that in the ground state of an atom or ion, electrons fill subshells of the lowest available energy, then they fill subshells of higher energy. For example, the 1s subshell is filled before the 2s subshell is occupied. In this way, the electrons of an atom or ion form the most stable electron configuration possible. An example is the configuration 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p3 for the phosphorus atom, meaning that the 1s subshell has 2 electrons, and so on.

In chemistry, the valence or valency of an atom is a measure of its combining capacity with other atoms when it forms chemical compounds or molecules. Valence is generally understood to be the number of chemical bonds that each atom of a given element typically forms. For a specified compound the valence of an atom is the number of bonds formed by the atom. Double bonds are considered to be two bonds, and triple bonds to be three. In most compounds, the valence of hydrogen is 1, of oxygen is 2, of nitrogen is 3, and of carbon is 4. Valence is not to be confused with the related concepts of the coordination number, the oxidation state, or the number of valence electrons for a given atom.

Superheavy elements, also known as transactinide elements, transactinides, or super-heavy elements, are the chemical elements with atomic number greater than 103. The superheavy elements are those beyond the actinides in the periodic table; the last actinide is lawrencium. By definition, superheavy elements are also transuranium elements, i.e., having atomic numbers greater than that of uranium (92). Depending on the definition of group 3 adopted by authors, lawrencium may also be included to complete the 6d series.

Core electrons are the electrons in an atom that are not valence electrons and do not participate in chemical bonding. The nucleus and the core electrons of an atom form the atomic core. Core electrons are tightly bound to the nucleus. Therefore, unlike valence electrons, core electrons play a secondary role in chemical bonding and reactions by screening the positive charge of the atomic nucleus from the valence electrons.

The 18-electron rule is a chemical rule of thumb used primarily for predicting and rationalizing formulas for stable transition metal complexes, especially organometallic compounds. The rule is based on the fact that the valence orbitals in the electron configuration of transition metals consist of five (n−1)d orbitals, one ns orbital, and three np orbitals, where n is the principal quantum number. These orbitals can collectively accommodate 18 electrons as either bonding or non-bonding electron pairs. This means that the combination of these nine atomic orbitals with ligand orbitals creates nine molecular orbitals that are either metal-ligand bonding or non-bonding. When a metal complex has 18 valence electrons, it is said to have achieved the same electron configuration as the noble gas in the period, lending stability to the complex. Transition metal complexes that deviate from the rule are often interesting or useful because they tend to be more reactive. The rule is not helpful for complexes of metals that are not transition metals. The rule was first proposed by American chemist Irving Langmuir in 1921.

The d electron count or number of d electrons is a chemistry formalism used to describe the electron configuration of the valence electrons of a transition metal center in a coordination complex. The d electron count is an effective way to understand the geometry and reactivity of transition metal complexes. The formalism has been incorporated into the two major models used to describe coordination complexes; crystal field theory and ligand field theory, which is a more advanced version based on molecular orbital theory. However the d electron count of an atom in a complex is often different from the d electron count of a free atom or a free ion of the same element.

A block of the periodic table is a set of elements unified by the atomic orbitals their valence electrons or vacancies lie in. The term seems to have been first used by Charles Janet. Each block is named after its characteristic orbital: s-block, p-block, d-block, f-block and g-block.

References

  1. 1 2 Jensen, William B. (2003). "The Place of Zinc, Cadmium, and Mercury in the Periodic Table" (PDF). Journal of Chemical Education. 80 (8): 952–961. Bibcode:2003JChEd..80..952J. doi:10.1021/ed080p952.
  2. Bury, C. R. (1921). "Langmuir's theory of the arrangement of electrons in atoms and molecules". J. Am. Chem. Soc. 43 (7): 1602–1609. doi:10.1021/ja01440a023.
  3. Bury, Charles Rugeley. Encyclopedia.com Complete dictionary of scientific biography (2008).
  4. Leigh, G. J., ed. (2011). Principles of Chemical Nomenclature (PDF). The Royal Society of Chemistry. p. 9. ISBN   978-1-84973-007-5.
  5. Petrucci, Ralph H.; Harwood, William S.; Herring, F. Geoffrey (2002). General chemistry: principles and modern applications (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, N.J: Prentice Hall. pp.  341–342. ISBN   978-0-13-014329-7. LCCN   2001032331. OCLC   46872308.
  6. Housecroft, C. E. and Sharpe, A. G. (2005) Inorganic Chemistry, 2nd ed, Pearson Prentice-Hall, pp. 20–21.
  7. 1 2 Connelly, N.G.; Damhus, T.; Hartshorn, R.M.; Hutton, A.T., eds. (2005). Nomenclature of Inorganic Chemistry (PDF). RSCIUPAC. ISBN   0-85404-438-8.
  8. IUPAC , Compendium of Chemical Terminology , 2nd ed. (the "Gold Book") (1997). Online corrected version: (2006) " transition element ". doi : 10.1351/goldbook.T06456
  9. Scerri, Eric R. (2020). The Periodic Table: Its Story and Its Significance. New York, NY. ISBN   978-0-19-091436-3. OCLC   1096234740.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  10. L. D. Landau, E. M. Lifshitz (1958). Quantum Mechanics: Non-Relativistic Theory. Vol. 3 (1st ed.). Pergamon Press. pp. 256–7.
  11. Wittig, Jörg (1973). "The pressure variable in solid state physics: What about 4f-band superconductors?". In H. J. Queisser (ed.). Festkörper Probleme: Plenary Lectures of the Divisions Semiconductor Physics, Surface Physics, Low Temperature Physics, High Polymers, Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics, of the German Physical Society, Münster, March 19–24, 1973. Advances in Solid State Physics. Vol. 13. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer. pp. 375–396. doi:10.1007/BFb0108579. ISBN   978-3-528-08019-8.
  12. Matthias, B. T. (1969). "Systematics of Super Conductivity". In Wallace, P. R. (ed.). Superconductivity. Vol. 1. Gordon and Breach. pp. 225–294. ISBN   9780677138107.
  13. William B. Jensen (1982). "The Positions of Lanthanum (Actinium) and Lutetium (Lawrencium) in the Periodic Table". J. Chem. Educ. 59 (8): 634–636. Bibcode:1982JChEd..59..634J. doi:10.1021/ed059p634.
  14. 1 2 3 Jensen, William B. (2015). "The positions of lanthanum (actinium) and lutetium (lawrencium) in the periodic table: an update". Foundations of Chemistry. 17: 23–31. doi:10.1007/s10698-015-9216-1. S2CID   98624395. Archived from the original on 30 January 2021. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  15. 1 2 3 Scerri, Eric (18 January 2021). "Provisional Report on Discussions on Group 3 of the Periodic Table" (PDF). Chemistry International. 43 (1): 31–34. doi:10.1515/ci-2021-0115. S2CID   231694898. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 April 2021. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
  16. Thyssen, P.; Binnemans, K. (2011). "Accommodation of the Rare Earths in the Periodic Table: A Historical Analysis". In Gschneidner, K. A. Jr.; Bünzli, J-C.G; Vecharsky, Bünzli (eds.). Handbook on the Physics and Chemistry of Rare Earths. Vol. 41. Amsterdam: Elsevier. pp. 1–94. doi:10.1016/B978-0-444-53590-0.00001-7. ISBN   978-0-444-53590-0.
  17. Barber, Robert C.; Karol, Paul J; Nakahara, Hiromichi; Vardaci, Emanuele; Vogt, Erich W. (2011). "Discovery of the elements with atomic numbers greater than or equal to 113 (IUPAC Technical Report)". Pure Appl. Chem. 83 (7): 1485. doi: 10.1351/PAC-REP-10-05-01 .
  18. Karol, Paul J.; Barber, Robert C.; Sherrill, Bradley M.; Vardaci, Emanuele; Yamazaki, Toshimitsu (22 December 2015). "Discovery of the elements with atomic numbers Z = 113, 115 and 117 (IUPAC Technical Report)". Pure Appl. Chem. 88 (1–2): 139–153. doi: 10.1515/pac-2015-0502 .
  19. Pyykkö, Pekka (2019). "An essay on periodic tables" (PDF). Pure and Applied Chemistry. 91 (12): 1959–1967. doi:10.1515/pac-2019-0801. S2CID   203944816 . Retrieved 27 November 2022.
  20. Fluck, E. (1988). "New Notations in the Periodic Table" (PDF). Pure Appl. Chem. 60 (3): 431–436. doi:10.1351/pac198860030431. S2CID   96704008. Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 March 2012. Retrieved 24 March 2012.
  21. Scerri, Eric (2009). "Which Elements Belong in Group 3?". Journal of Chemical Education. 86 (10): 1188. Bibcode:2009JChEd..86.1188S. doi:10.1021/ed086p1188 . Retrieved 1 January 2023.
  22. Chemey, Alexander T.; Albrecht-Schmitt, Thomas E. (2019). "Evolution of the periodic table through the synthesis of new elements". Radiochimica Acta. 107 (9–11): 771–801. doi:10.1515/ract-2018-3082. S2CID   104470619.
  23. Cotton, F. Albert; Wilkinson, G.; Murillo, C. A. (1999). Advanced Inorganic Chemistry (6th ed.). New York: Wiley, ISBN   978-0-471-19957-1.
  24. Tossell, J.A. (1 November 1977). "Theoretical studies of valence orbital binding energies in solid zinc sulfide, zinc oxide, and zinc fluoride". Inorganic Chemistry. 16 (11): 2944–2949. doi:10.1021/ic50177a056.
  25. Farberovich, O. V.; Kurganskii, S. I.; Domashevskaya, E. P. (1980). "Problems of the OPW Method. II. Calculation of the Band Structure of ZnS and CdS". Physica Status Solidi B. 97 (2): 631–640. Bibcode:1980PSSBR..97..631F. doi:10.1002/pssb.2220970230.
  26. Singh, Prabhakar P. (1994). "Relativistic effects in mercury: Atom, clusters, and bulk". Physical Review B. 49 (7): 4954–4958. Bibcode:1994PhRvB..49.4954S. doi:10.1103/PhysRevB.49.4954. PMID   10011429.
  27. Wang, Xuefang; Andrews, Lester; Riedel, Sebastian; Kaupp, Martin (2007). "Mercury Is a Transition Metal: The First Experimental Evidence for HgF4". Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 46 (44): 8371–8375. doi:10.1002/anie.200703710. PMID   17899620.
  28. Jensen, William B. (2008). "Is Mercury Now a Transition Element?". J. Chem. Educ. 85 (9): 1182–1183. Bibcode:2008JChEd..85.1182J. doi: 10.1021/ed085p1182 .
  29. Fernández, Israel; Holzmann, Nicole; Frenking, Gernot (2020). "The Valence Orbitals of the Alkaline-Earth Atoms". Chemistry: A European Journal. 26 (62): 14194–14210. doi: 10.1002/chem.202002986 . PMC   7702052 . PMID   32666598. S2CID   220529532.
  30. Pyykkö, Pekka; Desclaux, Jean-Paul (1979). "Relativity and the Periodic System of Elements". Accounts of Chemical Research. 12 (8): 276–281. doi:10.1021/ar50140a002.
  31. 1 2 Miessler, G. L. and Tarr, D. A. (1999) Inorganic Chemistry, 2nd edn, Prentice-Hall, p. 38-39 ISBN   978-0-13-841891-5
  32. Jørgensen, Christian (1973). "The Loose Connection between Electron Configuration and the Chemical Behavior of the Heavy Elements (Transuranics)". Angewandte Chemie International Edition. 12 (1): 12–19. doi:10.1002/anie.197300121.
  33. Matsumoto, Paul S (2005). "Trends in Ionization Energy of Transition-Metal Elements". Journal of Chemical Education. 82 (11): 1660. Bibcode:2005JChEd..82.1660M. doi:10.1021/ed082p1660.
  34. Hogan, C. Michael (2010). "Heavy metal" in Encyclopedia of Earth. National Council for Science and the Environment. E. Monosson and C. Cleveland (eds.) Washington DC.
  35. Orgel, L.E. (1966). An Introduction to Transition-Metal Chemistry, Ligand field theory (2nd. ed.). London: Methuen.
  36. Protchenko, Andrey V.; Dange, Deepak; Harmer, Jeffrey R.; Tang, Christina Y.; Schwarz, Andrew D.; Kelly, Michael J.; Phillips, Nicholas; Tirfoin, Remi; Birjkumar, Krishna Hassomal; Jones, Cameron; Kaltsoyannis, Nikolas; Mountford, Philip; Aldridge, Simon (16 February 2014). "Stable GaX2, InX2 and TlX2 radicals". Nature Chemistry. 6 (4): 315–319. Bibcode:2014NatCh...6..315P. doi:10.1038/nchem.1870. PMID   24651198.
  37. Greenwood, Norman N.; Earnshaw, Alan (1997). Chemistry of the Elements (2nd ed.). Butterworth-Heinemann. ISBN   978-0-08-037941-8. p. 240
  38. Figgis, B.N.; Lewis, J. (1960). Lewis, J.; Wilkins, R.G. (eds.). The Magnetochemistry of Complex Compounds. Modern Coordination Chemistry. New York: Wiley Interscience. pp. 400–454.
  39. Kovacs KA, Grof P, Burai L, Riedel M (2004). "Revising the Mechanism of the Permanganate/Oxalate Reaction". J. Phys. Chem. A. 108 (50): 11026–11031. Bibcode:2004JPCA..10811026K. doi:10.1021/jp047061u.