4.2.1

General Properties (A2 Only)

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The Transition Metals

The transition metals have a set of properties which are characteristic of them.

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Partially filled d sub-shell

  • The transition metals are not just the metals in the d-block. The final triad of the d-block (Zn, Cd, Hg) are not usually thought of as transition metals.
    • This is because they have a full d sub-shell.
    • The transition metals share their properties, and these properties come about because of a partially filled d sub-shell.
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Metallic properties

  • The transition metals are metals. This means they have the usual metal properties:
    • Hard.
    • Sonorous (ring when hit).
    • Shiny.
    • Good electrical conductors.
    • Good thermal conductors.
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Ionic properties

  • The ions of the transition metals have properties which are NOT shared by other metals:
    • They have multiple oxidation states.
    • They form coloured ions in solution.
    • They are often great catalysts for chemical reactions.
    • They form complexes with ligands (we’ll explain next what that means).
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Ligands

  • A ligand is a molecule which forms a dative bond with a transition metal.
    • The ligand donates a lone pair to the transition metal ion.
    • An ion with ligands attached to it is called a complex ion.
    • We define the co-ordination number of an ion as the number of dative bonds between a metal ion and its ligands.

Jump to other topics

1Physical Chemistry

2Physical Chemistry 2 (A2 Only)

3Inorganic Chemistry

4Inorganic Chemistry 2 (A2 Only)

5Organic Chemistry 1

6Organic Chemistry 2 (A2 Only)

6.1Optical Isomerism (A2 Only)

6.2Aldehydes & Ketones (A2 Only)

6.3Carboxylic Acids & Esters (A2 Only)

6.4Aromatic Chemistry (A2 Only)

6.5Amines (A2 Only)

6.6Polymers (A2 Only)

6.7Biological Organic (A2 Only)

6.8Organic Synthesis (A2 Only)

6.9NMR Spectroscopy (A2 Only)

6.10Chromatography (A2 Only)

6.11A-A* (AO3/4) - Organic 2

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