Transition metals form the belly of the periodic table. In chemistry, a transition metal is defined three ways.
The Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry states that any element whose atom has a partially filled d subshell is a transition metal. Most scientists simply regard the transition metals as the elements in the d-block (groups 3-12) on the periodic table.
There are total of 38 elements in this group including Cobalt, Nickel, Iron, Rhodium, Gold, Silver, Cooper, Scandium, Titanium, Vanadium, Manganese, Zinc and Mercury.
Transition metals are characterized by properties not found in other groups on the periodic table. They form compounds with striking colors, because of the d-d electronic transfers.
These include Cobalt Nitrate (red), Potassium Dichromate (orange), Potassium chromate (yellow), Nickel Chloride (turquoise), Copper sulfate (blue) and Potassium permanganate (purple).
Compounds made of transition metals have many oxidation states because of the low energy gap between them.
The transition metals are also paramagnetic. Most of the transition metals can bind to ligands.
Stick around for the next few weeks and we dive into the transition metal series and discover their unique uses in the industry of chemistry!