The Transition Metals (Groups 3 to 12)
The Transition Metals
It commonly refers to any element in the d-block of the periodic table, including zinc, cadmium and mercury. This corresponds to groups 3 to 12 on the periodic table.
The (loosely defined) transition metals are the 40 chemical elements 21 to 30, 39 to 48, 71 to 80, and 103 to 112. The name transition comes from their position in the periodic table of elements. In each of the four periods in which they occur, these elements represent the successive addition of electrons to the d atomic orbitals of the atoms. In this way, the transition metals represent the transition between group 2 elements and group 13 elements.
Properties
Transition elements tend to have high tensile strength, density and melting and boiling points. As with many properties of transition metals, this is due to d orbital electrons' ability to delocalise within the metal lattice. In metallic substances, the more electrons shared between nuclei, the stronger the metal.
There are several common characteristic properties of transition elements:
They often form coloured compounds.
They can have a variety of different oxidation states.
At least one of their compounds has an incomplete d-electron subshell.
They are often good catalysts.
They are silvery-blue at room temperature (except copper and gold).
They are solids at room temperature (except mercury).
They form complexes.
They are often paramagnetic.