1. Chapter 20. Transition Metals and Coordination Chemistry
20.1 The Transition Metals: A Survey
20.2 The First-Row Transition Metals
20.3 Coordination Compounds
20.4 Isomerism
20.5 Bonding in Complex Ions:
The Localized Electron Model
20.6 The Crystal Field Model
20.7 The Molecular Orbital Model
20.8 The Biological Importance of
Coordination Complexes
Vanadium metal (center) and in solution as V2+(aq), V3+(aq), VO2+(aq), and VO2+(aq), (left to right).

2. Figure 18.1: The periodic table.

3. Figure 12.39: Special names for groups in the periodic table

4. Figure 12.39: Special names for groups in the periodic table (cont’d)

5. Figure 20.1: Transition elements on the periodic table

6. Figure 12.28: The orbitals filled for elements in various parts

7. Some Transition Metals Important to the U.S. Economy and Defense

8. 20.1 A Survey of the Transition Metals
Recall the Representative Elements, Groups 1A – 8A:
Chemical similarities occur within the vertical groups
E.g. LiCl
NaCl
KCl
RbCl
CsCl
all ionic compounds
Large changes in chemistry across a given period as the number of valence electrons changes
E.g. Na Mg Al Si P S Cl Ar
NaCl MgCl2 AlCl3 … PCl5
Ionic
Covalent
molecules
increasing metallic character
decreasing ionization energy
Transition Metals
Similarities within a given period as well as within a given vertical group.
this huge contrast with the representative elements is due to the fact that the last electrons added to the transition metal elements are inner electrons:
d electrons in d – block transition metals
f electrons in the lanthanides and actinides

9. the inner d and f electrons cannot participate in bonding as readily as the s and p electrons.
Characteristics of the transition metals
typical metals
metallic luster
high electrical and thermal conductivities
Differences in Physical Properties among the transition metals can be large
E.g. W, tungsten (mp = 3400℃) vs Hg, mercury (mp < 25℃)
hard and high strength vs soft
Fe, iron and Ti Cu, Au, Ag
ready rxn w/ O2 to form oxides vs no rxn with O2
Cr, Ni, Co, Al, Fe Au, Ag, Pt, Pd
Ionic compounds with nonmetals
Often more than one oxidation state
E.g. FeCl FeCl3
the cations are often complex ions, species in which the transition metal ion is surrounded by a number of ligands.

10. Molecular model: The CO(NH3)63+ ion

11. Ligands are molecules or ions that behave
as Lewis bases, i.e. have a lone pair of electrons.
Most compounds of the transition metals are colored.
the transition metal ion can absorb visible light.
Many transition metal compounds are paramagnetic.
because they contain unpaired electrons
Electron Configurations (See Section 12.13)
The 3d orbitals begin to fill after the 4s orbital is complete.
e.g. Sc: [Ar]4s23d1
Ti: s23d2
Y: s23d3
Cr: s13d5
Mn: s23d5 :
Cu: s13d10
Zn: s23d10
for most elements of the first-row transition metals 4s23dn has a lower energy than 4s13dn+1 except chromium and copper.
The 4s and 3d orbital energies are very similar.
Co2+, Mn2+, Cr3+, Fe3+, & Ni2+
(See Table 20.2)
4s13dn+1 exceptions to 4s23dn electron configuration

12. Table 20.2 Selected Properties of the First-Row Transition Metals

13. Electron configurations of ions of the first-row transition metals
the energy of the 3d orbitals is significantly less than that of the 4s orbital.
E.g. Sc: 4s23d Sc2+: 3d1
Ti: 4s23d Ti3+: 3d1
Zn: 4s23d Zn2+: 3d10
these ions do not have 4s electrons (since the 3d orbitals are lower in energy)
Oxidation States and Ionization Energies
Various ions formed by losing electrons
E.g. Ti → Ti2+, Ti3+, Ti4+
4s23d most common
(See Table 20.2)
to the right of the row the higher oxidation states are not observed because the 3d orbitals become lower in energy as the nuclear charge increases, making electrons difficult to remove.
e.g Zn → Zn {Zn3+, Zn6+, Zn10+, etc ← NOT OBSERVED}
4s23d observed
(See Figure 20.2)

14. Figure 20.2: plots of the first (red dots) and third (blue dots) ionization energies for the first-row transition metals

15. Standard Reduction Potentials
The potential of the half-reaction
M(s) → Mn+ + ne-
characterizes the reducing ability of the metal.
this is the reverse of usually tabulated half-reactions and the potentials are opposite in sign to tabulated values in Table 20.2.
Since by definition ξo = 0 for:
2H+ + 2e- → H2
all the first-row transition metals, except copper, can reduce H+ ions to hydrogen gas in 1M aqueous solutions of strong acids:
M(s) + 2H+(aq) → H2 (g) + M2+(aq)

16. significant increase in size from 3d to 4d
The 4d and 5d Transition Series
Comparison of the atomic radii of 3d, 4d, and 5d elements
See Figure 20.3
general decrease in size in going from left to right across each series
significant increase in size from 3d to 4d
4d and 5d metals are very similar in size
this is due to the lanthanide contraction.
lanthanide series: elements between lanthanum (La) and hafnium (Hf) ↑
filling of 4f orbitals which are in the interior of the atoms do not affect size of the 5d elements
4d and 5d transition metals, though not as common as 3d metals, have some very useful properties.
E.g. The platinum group metals – Ru, Os, Rh, Ir, Pd and Pt – are widely used as catalysts in many industrial processes.

17. Figure 12.28: The orbitals filled for elements in various parts

18. Figure 12.31: The positions of the elements considered in Example 12.8

19. Figure 20.3: Atomic radii of the 3d, 4d, and 5d transition series.

20. Figure 20.1: Transition elements on the periodic table

21. 20.2 The First-Row Transition Metals
Highlights of some properties or chemistry of the 10 3d transition metals.
Scandium, Sc
+3 oxidation state in compounds, e.g. ScCl3, Sc2O3, etc
most of its compounds are colorless and diamagnetic.
Titanium, Ti
fairly abundant (0.6% by mass of the earth’s crust)
low density + high strength + high mp (1,672℃)
excellent structural material: jet engines, Boeing 747 jetliners, etc.
titanium (Ⅳ) oxide (or titanium dioxide), TiO2 is the most common compound.
-- white pigment used in many products: paper,
paint, linoleum, plastics, cosmetics, etc.
3. Vanadium, V
The most common oxidation state is +5 as in V2O5 (orange, mp = 650 ℃) and VF5.

22. Figure 20.4: Titanium bicycle

23. Chromium, Cr
Main ore is chromite (FeCr2O4)
FeCr2O4 (s) + 4 C (s) → 4 CO (g) + Fe (s) + 2Cr (s)
Ferrochrome
added directly to iron in steel making process
common oxidation states in compounds: +2, +3, and +6
Cr2+ (chromous ion)
Cr3+ (chromic ion)
chromium (IV) oxide + conc. sulfuric acid
cleaning solution
5. Manganese, Mn
The only member of the 3d metals that can exist in all oxidation states from +2 to +7.
Manganese (VII) ion: MnO4-
permanganate ion
( a strong oxidizing agent in solution)

24. Manganese nodules on the sea floor
Source: Visuals Unlimited

25. Iron, Fe
Quite abundant (4.7% of the earth’s crust)
Its chemistry mainly involve its +2 and +3 oxidation states.
7. Cobalt, Co
mainly +2 and +3 states
compounds with 0, +1 and +4 states are also known
8. Nickel, Ni
mainly in the +2 oxidation state.
aqueous solutions of nickel (II) salts contain Ni(H2O)62+ ion,
characteristic emerald green color

26. Aqueous solution containing the Ni2+ ion

27. 9. Copper, Cu
widely available in ores (sulfides,
chlorides, carbonates etc.)
used in electrical applications (wires, cables, etc)
also used in water pipes in homes
many common alloys contain copper
e.g. brass, bronze, sterling silver, 18- and 14- Karat gold
chemistry involves +2 oxidation state,
but also some compounds with the +1 oxidation state.
10. Zinc, Zn
+2 oxidation state only
used mainly for producing galvanized steel.
Zinc (II) salts are colorless.

28. 20.3 Coordination Compounds
A coordination compound consists of a complex ion and counter ions.
it is an ionic compound, electrically neutral.
complex ion = transition metal ion + attached ligands.
E.g. [Co(NH3)5Cl]Cl2
Co(NH3)5Cl2+ ← complex ion
2 Cl- ← counter ions (anions)
coordination compounds ionize in solutions (similar to simple salts)
[Co(NH3)5Cl]Cl2 (s) Co(NH3)5Cl2+(aq) + 2 Cl- (aq)
Coordination Number of Metal Ions
The number of bonds formed between a metal ion and the ligands in the complex ion is termed the coordination number.
depending on the size, charge, and electron configuration of the transition metal ion, the coordination number can be from 2 to 8.
H2O

29. many metal ions show more than one coordination number.
for the typical geometries for the various typical coordination numbers see Figure 20.6.
Ligands
a neutral molecule or ion having a lone pair that can be used to form a bond with a metal ion.
Lewis bases by definition are ligands
the metal ion is a Lewis acid
a metal – ligand bond is called a coordinative covalent bond.
it results from a Lewis acid – base interaction in which a ligand donates an electron pair to an empty orbital on a metal ion.

30. Figure 20.6: Ligand arrangements for coordination numbers 2, 4, and 6