The Wright Stuff

Properties of the Transition Metals

The transition metals are the group of metals in the middle section of the periodic table. They are divided into three groups - the first row transition metals, the second row transition metals and, guess what, the third row transition metals. The most commonly studied ones are the first row transition metals, listed in the table below.

Symbol		Name	Atomic Number	Electronic Configuration
	Sc	Scandium	21	1s², 2s², 2p⁶, 3s², 3p⁶, 4s², 3d¹
	Ti	Titanium	22	1s², 2s², 2p⁶, 3s², 3p⁶, 4s², 3d²
	V	Vanadium	23	1s², 2s², 2p⁶, 3s², 3p⁶, 4s², 3d³
	Cr	Chromium	24	1s², 2s², 2p⁶, 3s², 3p⁶, 4s¹, 3d⁵
	Mn	Manganese	25	1s², 2s², 2p⁶, 3s², 3p⁶, 4s², 3d⁵
	Fe	Iron	26	1s², 2s², 2p⁶, 3s², 3p⁶, 4s², 3d⁶
	Co	Cobalt	27	1s², 2s², 2p⁶, 3s², 3p⁶, 4s², 3d⁷
	Ni	Nickel	28	1s², 2s², 2p⁶, 3s², 3p⁶, 4s², 3d⁸
	Cu	Copper	29	1s², 2s², 2p⁶, 3s², 3p⁶, 4s1, 3d¹⁰
	Zn	Zinc	30	1s², 2s², 2p⁶, 3s², 3p⁶, 4s², 3d¹⁰

Note that in exams they are keen on asking questions on electronic configurations, if they were part of your course, and chromium and copper are particularly popular ones, as they do not fill the outer shell in the order you would expect. Also remember that when forming ions, they all start by losing the 4s electron first, then the 4d electrons.

Why are they called the transition metals? They are the metals which make the transition to using the d-orbitals for their bonding. Hence they are sometimes called the d-block elements. (The f-block elements are the ones which make the transition to using their f-orbitals for bonding.)

All the transition metals have certain properties in common, and exams often ask you to list or discuss some of these common properties.

They have a partly filled d-shell either as the element or in their compounds (apart from Zn).
They are all metals.
They are all shiny metals with the typical metallic grey / white colour, except gold, which is gold coloured, and copper, which is copper coloured.
They are all good conductors of heat and electricity.
They have high melting and boiling points.
Most transition metals form coloured compounds (apart from Sc and Zn).
They have several stable oxidation states or valencies.
Many are used as catalysts, either as the metal itself or as some of their compounds.
They form complex ions, with various co-ordination numbers and geometries.
Many form compounds which are paramagnetic (have unpaired electrons).

This page gives more information on the uses of transition metals.
This page covers transition metals as catalysts.