Electronic Configuration of the d-block

Elements

Are you tired of learning the ​Periodic Table​? Isn’t it confusing to

remember all the properties of all the elements? We understand how
difficult it must be for you! However, we have grouped similar
elements into blocks. In this chapter, we will study the ​Electronic
configuration​ of the d-block elements. This will make it easier for you
to understand and remember the various properties and configurations
of the elements that belong to this group.

Electronic Configuration of the d-Block Elements

The elements which lie in the middle of the Group II A elements and
the Group II B elements in the present day periodic table are the d
block elements. The d-block elements may also be known as
Transition Elements​ as they are elements which lie between the metals
and non-metals of the periodic table.
(Source: Wikipedia)

Browse more Topics under The D And F Block Elements

● Position in the Periodic Table
● Some Applications of d and f-block elements
● Some Important Compounds of Transition Elements
● The Actinoids
● The Lanthanide
● General Properties of the Transition Elements (d-block)

Electronic Configuration

Electronic configuration of an element is characterized as an

arrangement of ​electrons​ in the orbital. Orbitals s, p, d, and f are the
four chief nuclear orbitals. These orbitals ought to be filled by the
number of electrons and the ​energy​ level of the orbital. We can
arrange the four ​orbitals​ by their energy level as s < p < d < f. As
indicated by Aufbau’s principle the most reduced energy orbital ought
to be filled first.

The s orbital can get two electrons while p, d and f orbitals can hold 6,
10 and 14 electrons separately. Generally, the electronic configuration
of these elements is (n-1) d ​1–10​ns ​1–2​. The (n–1) remains for the
inward d orbitals which may have one to ten electrons and the
peripheral ns orbital may have one or two electrons.

The d block includes the middle area marked by s and p blocks in the
periodic table. The very name “transition” given to the elements of
d-block is simply because of their position amongst the s and p block
elements. The d–orbitals of the penultimate energy level in their atoms
get electrons leading to the three columns of the transition metals, i.e.,
3d, 4d and 5d. The fourth line of 6d is still inadequate. These series of
the transition elements are displayed in ​figures​ beneath.

Explore more topics under d and f-block Elements

The d and f – block Elements

 ● The Lanthanide
● The Actinoids
● Some Important Compounds of Transition Elements
● Position in the Periodic Table
● General Properties of Transition Elements (d-block)
● Some Applications of d and f block Elements

Be that as it may, this speculation has a few special cases as a result of

extremely low energy contrast between (n-1)d and ns orbitals.
Moreover, half and totally filled arrangements of orbitals are
moderately more stable.

An outcome of this figure is mirrored the electronic configurations of

Cr and Cu in the 3d series. Consider the instance of Cr, for instance,
which has 3d​5​4s​1​ rather than 3d​4​4s​2​; the energy gap between the two
sets (3d and 4s) of orbitals is sufficiently little to anticipate electron
entering the 3d orbitals. Also in the event of Cu, the configuration is
3d​10​4s​1 ​and not 3d​9​4s​2​.

Learn more about ​S Block elements here​.

1​st​ Series of Electronic Configuration

So, we sum up the external configuration of first-line transition
elements as 4s​2​3d​n​. In any case, we already know that chromium and
copper​ don’t follow this example. This is a result of very low energy
distinction between the 3d shell and 4s shell. It is tentatively found
that half and totally filled arrangements of orbitals are more stable.

On account of the elements like chromium and copper, the energy

contrast between the orbitals is very less. Therefore, it can’t keep the
electrons entering in the d shell. The electronic configuration of the
d-block elements in the advanced periodic table can be composed as
displayed in the table beneath:

2​nd​ Series of Electronic Configuration

The electronic configuration of the d-block elements in the second

series is as follows:
3​rd​ Series of Electronic Configuration

The electronic configuration of the d-block elements in the third series

is as follows:

4​th​ Series of Electronic Configuration

Zn, Cd and Hg have their orbitals completely filled both in their
ground state and in their common ​oxidation​ states. We can represent it
as (n-1) d​10 ​ns​2​. So, they are not referred to as transition elements.

Solved Examples For You

Question 1: Why are d block elements coloured?

Answer: Compounds of transition elements that are coloured are

related with somewhat incompletely filled (n-1) d orbitals. The
transition metal particles containing unpaired d-electrons experience
electronic transition starting with one d-orbital then onto the next.
Amid this d-d transition ​phenomenon​, the electrons ingest certain
energy from the radiation and transmit the rest of energy as coloured
light. The shade of particle is reciprocal of the shading consumed by
it. Consequently, the coloured ​particle​ is framed because of d-d
transition which falls in the visible area for all transition ​components​.

Question 2: Write a note on the melting and boiling points of

transition metals.

Answer: Transition metals usually have a very high value of melting

and boiling points due to the presence of strong metallic bonds. Zn,
Cd and Hg metals have lower melting and boiling points. This is
mainly because they have completely filled d orbitals because of
which no unpaired electron is available. Because of unavailability of
unpaired electrons, these metals do not undergo covalent bonding.
Rest of the transition metals does have metallic as well as covalent
bonding. ​Metals​ towards the middle of each transition series have the
highest melting point.

Position in the Periodic Table

The d and f Block elements in the groups of 3 to 11 are also called as

transition elements​ and inner transition elements respectively. 4f and
5f orbitals of f-block elements are steadily in later of two long periods.
Based on this they are differentiated in lanthanides and actinides. The
d block elements which are transition elements have partially filled
(n-1) d-orbitals. The position in the periodic table of an element is
highly reflective of its properties and ​nature​. Let us learn more about
the position in the periodic table.

Position in the Periodic Table

Studying which elements lie in a particular group position in the

periodic table, is significant to the understanding of such elements as a
whole. There is a reason why we categorize different elements in the
periodic table. The d and f block elements hold certain properties,
which make them fall into the category. Let us study the d and f block
elements’ position in the periodic table.

d Block Elements in Modern Periodic Table

The d block position in the periodic table consists of elements in the
group of 3 to 12. In this group, the d ​orbitals​ are filled progressively.
The elements which are present between the s and p block elements in
the modern periodic table are called the transition elements. Transition
elements usually have partly filled (n-1) d-orbitals.

In the transition elements, the last ​electron​ usually enters the

penultimate d orbitals i.e. (n-1) d orbitals and that is why they are
called d-block elements in the modern periodic table. The general
valence shell configurations of every transition elements are (n-1)
d​1–10​.ns​0, 1, 2​.

All the d-block elements are classified into four series which are
called 3d, 4d, 5d and 6d series corresponding to the filled outer shells
of 3d, 4d, 5d, and 6d orbitals. Present in the center of the periodic
table, the ‘d’ block elements lie in the middle of the s block elements
on the left, and the non-metals of the p block, to its right.

Browse more Topics under The D And F Block Elements

● Electronic configuration of the d-block elements
● Some Applications of d and f-block elements
● Some Important Compounds of Transition Elements
 ● The Actinoids
● The Lanthanide
● General Properties of the Transition Elements (d-block)

Transition Series of d Block Elements

The following are the transition series of the d block elements:

● First transition series or the 3d series: Those elements which

have an ​atomic number​ from 21 to 30 are usually included in
this series. Included in this series are ten elements which are
Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, and Zn. They always
correspond to the filling of the 3d subshell.
● Second transition series or the 4d series: Included in this series
are the elements which have an atomic number from 39 to 48
and are Y, Zr, Nb, Mo, Tc, Ru, Rh, Pd, Ag, and Cd. All of
these elements have a corresponding filling of the 4d subshell.
● Third transition series or the 5d series: Included in this ​series
are elements that have an atomic number from 72 to 80 and 57.
 ● Fourth transition series or the 6d series: Elements which have
an atomic number from 104 to 112 and 89 form the elements in
this group.

f Block Elements in Modern Periodic Table

The ‘f’ – block elements are also known by the name of inner
transition elements. In these elements, the last electron usually enters
the penultimate i.e. (n – 2) f of the orbital. The differentiating electron
in transition elements may enter either 4f or 5f orbitals based upon
which they are further differentiated into lanthanides and actinides.

In lanthanides, the differentiating electron enters the 4f orbital. These

are cerium to lutetium. The name lanthanides fall on the elements
because they arrive immediately after lanthanum. In the case of
actinides, the differentiating electron enters the 5f orbitals. These are
usually thorium to lawrencium.

These elements come immediately after actinium in the periodic table.

The General electronic configuration of f – block elements is (n–2)
f​1–14​(n–1) d​0–1​ns​2​. In the case of Lanthanides, the electronic
configuration is [Xe]4f​1–14​5d​0–1​6s​2 ​while in the case of Actinides it is
[Rn]5f​1–14​6d​0–1​7s​2

Solved Examples for You

Question: Discuss the electronic configuration of the f block elements

and the general characteristics of these elements.

Answer: The general electronic configuration of f-block elements can

be written as: (n-2) f​1-14​ (n-1) d​0-2​ ns​2​. The elements included in these
two series are called the inner transition elements. It is so because they
form transition series within the transition elements of d-block.

Among the general characteristics of the f block elements are the

following:

● They are usually heavy ​metals

● These elements have a generally higher melting and boiling
point
● They display a variety of oxidisation states
● These elements tend to form coloured ions
 ● They form complex compounds

As for the characteristics of Actinoids and Lanthanoids, we can say

the following:

● Lanthanoids are silvery white soft metals which tarnish readily

when they face exposure to air.
● The hardness of lanthanoids increases with increasing atomic
number.
● The melting and boiling points of ​actinoids​ are moderately high
but they are considerably lower than those of transition
elements.
● Actinoids show different oxidation state such as +2, +3, +4, +5,
+6 and +7. However +3 ​oxidation​ state is most common among
all the actinoids.

Some Applications of d and f block

Elements
Do you agree that the d and f block elements are the lesser known
elements of the periodic table as compared to the other elements? Yet
they find their use in various ​industries​. In this topic, we are going to
learn about the numerous applications of d and f block elements. Let’s
find out what they are.

Understanding the d and f block Elements

The d-block of the modern ​periodic table​ consists of elements of the

groups 3 to 12 in which the orbitals consist of progressively in each of
the four long periods. The elements constituting the f – block is those
elements in which the 4 f and 5 f are progressively in the later of the
two long periods.

These elements are actually formal members of the group three from
which they have been taken out to form a separate f – block of the
periodic table. The d – block elements acquire the name of ​transition
elements​ as they represent a significant change in properties from
highly electropositive s – block elements to the least electropositive ​p
– block elements​.

Learn more about ​D and F Block elements here in detail​.

The transition metals are those elements which have filled
incompletely d – subshells in their ground state or in any one of their
oxidation state or in any compound form. Cu, Ag and Au are the most
common transition metals because, in their commonly occurring
states, they have partly filled d – subshells.

Zn, Cd and Hg of group 12 do not have partly filled d – subshell in

their elementary state or commonly occurring oxidation state, and
hence, are not considered as transition elements. However, being the
end members their ​chemistry​ becomes understood with transition
elements. The Electronic Configuration is ( n-1)d​1-10​ ns​1-2

Browse more Topics under The D And F Block Elements

● Electronic configuration of the d-block elements
● Position in the Periodic Table
● Some Important Compounds of Transition Elements
● The Actinoids
● The Lanthanide
● General Properties of the Transition Elements (d-block)

Applications of d and f Block Elements

Are there any applications of d and f block elements? Definitely, each
of the elements in the d and f block, have a specific set of properties.
This makes them useful for a variety of purposes. Over the years,
scientists have studied and arrived at many such useful applications of
d and f block elements. This makes them viable for use. Let’s start
with the uses of d Block elements.

Uses of d Block Elements

The uses of the d block elements are:

● Iron​ and its amalgam, steel, are utilized broadly in the

development industry.
● Titanium is as a part of the ​manufacture​ of airship and
spaceship.
● Tungsten comes in use in making electrical fibres.
● Manganese dioxide comes in use as a part of dry battery cells.
 ● Zinc comes in use as the negative anode in fixed dry batteries.
● Niobium composites are perfect as a part of fly motors.
● Tantalum comes into use to make expository ​weights​.
● Silver bromide comes into use as a part of photography.
● Many d- block or transition metals and their compounds find
their use as impetuses in the ​chemical reactions​.
● Palladium chloride comes into use in the Wacker process of
oxidation of ethane to ethanol.
● Iron comes in use in the production of ammonia in Haber’s
process.
● Ziegler-Natta, a complex of trimethyl ​aluminium​ and titanium
tetrachloride come into use in the polymerisation of ethene to
polythene.

Uses of f Block Elements

Some applications of the f block elements are:

● Lanthanide alloys (mischmetal) utilized for the creation of

instrumental steels and heat resistance.
 ● Carbides, Borides, and nitrides of lanthanides come in use as
refractories.
● Lanthanide oxides come in use in cleaning glass as abrasives.
● Thorium is a part of cancer treatment and glowing gas mantles.
● We utilize Uranium as an atomic fuel.
● Plutonium is a part of nuclear reactors and nuclear bombs.

Solved Question for You

Q: Discuss some of the properties of the d block elements.

Ans: The elements with a halfway filled d-subshell are d-block

elements. They also go by the name ‘transition elements’ because they
form a transition between metals and non-metals. The d and f block
contains both metals and non-metals. The transition elements can be
either regular transition elements or the non-typical transition
elements. The d – block has three arrangements, each of ten elements.

These arrangements are described by the totally filled 3d, 4d, and 5d
subshells and are named as 3d – (first series) which include Sc – Zn,
4d arrangement (second series) which includes Y-Cd and the 5d
arrangement (third series) which includes La-Hg separately.

There is a deficient fourth series comprising of just three elements in

particular Ac, Ku, and Ha. In these elements, the 6d subshell begins to
fill at Ac. Out of these, elements like iron, cobalt and nickel are used
in making magnets.

Some Important Compounds of

Transition Elements

We come in contact with various transition ​metals​ on a daily basis,

without even coming to realize the fact. For example, take iron. From
ships and ​buildings​, iron is used even in the cutlery around us. Some
of the important compounds of transition elements are also used in our
daily lives in much the same manner. Let us take a look at some of the
important compounds of transition elements and study their properties
as well.

Transition Elements
(Source: Purdue University)

Transition metals are usually defined as those elements that have or

can readily form partially filled ‘d’ orbitals. The d-block elements in
the groups of 3 to 11 are known as transition elements. The f block
elements are also called inner transition metals, which are also known
as the lanthanides and actinides. They also meet this criterion because
the d orbital is only partially occupied before the f ​orbitals​.

The d orbitals are usually filled with the copper family which is the
group 11 and for this reason, the next in the family which is group 12
is technically not defined as compounds of transition elements.
However, the group 12 elements surely display some of the same
chemical properties and are commonly included in the discussions
related to transition metals. Some chemists, however, do treat the
group 12 elements as transition metals.

The d-block elements are divided into the first transition series, which
are the elements Sc through Cu, the second transition series which are
the elements Y through Ag, and the third transition series which are
the element La and the elements Hf through Au. Actinium, Ac, is the
first member of the fourth transition series, which also includes Rf
through Rg. The f-block elements are the elements Ce through Lu,
which usually constitute the lanthanide series, and the elements Th
through Lr, which ​constitute​ the actinide series.

Learn more about ​Inner Transition Elements​ in detail here.

Lanthanum behaves very much like the lanthanide elements, which is

why it is considered a lanthanide element, even though its electron
configuration makes it the first member of the third transition series.
Similarly, the behaviour of actinium means that it is part of the
actinide series, although its ​electron​ configuration makes it the first
member of the fourth transition series.

Transitions and Inner Transition Elements

Compounds of Transition Elements
Ferrous Sulphate (Green Vitriol), FeSO​4​.7H​​2​O

Hydrated and anhydrous FeSO4 is green and white in colour

respectively. It is isomorphous with Epsom salt, MgSO​4​.7H​2​O and
ZnSO​4​.7H​2​ It effervesces on exposure to air. Like other ferrous salts,
it takes up HNO​3​ forming brown coloured double compound,
Fe(NO)SO​4​, nitroso ferrous sulphate.

It forms double salts with sulphates of alkali metals with general

formula​ R​2​SO​4​.FeSO​4​.6H​2​O. With ammonium sulphate, it forms a
double salt known as ferrous ammonium sulphate or Mohr’s salt,
FeSO​4​.(NH4)2SO4.6H2O. It does not effervesce. It ionises in ​solution
to gives Fe​2+​, NH​4+​ and SO​42–​ ions.

Ferric Oxide, Fe​2​O​3

Anhydrous salt is yellow, deliquescent compound and highly soluble

in H​2​O. On heating, it gives FeCl​2 ​and Cl​2​. Its aqueous solution is
acidic due to hydrolysis.

Silver Nitrate, AgNO​3

Silver nitrate forms precipitate with some salt solutions which help in
the detection of acid radicals. It decomposes on heating.

Mercury (I) Chloride / Mercurous Chloride / Calomel, (Hg​2​Cl​2​)

It is a white ​power​ insoluble in water but soluble in ​chlorine​ water. On

treatment with ammonia, if turns black due to the formation of finely
divided mercury.

Mercury (II) Chloride HgCl​2

It is a white crystalline solid sparingly soluble in cold water but

soluble in hot water. Its solubility can be increased by adding Cl.
When treated with SnCl​2​ it is reduced to mercury.

Mercury-II Iodide

Mercuric iodide exists in two forms, i.e. red and yellow. The yellow
form is stable above 400 K white the red form is stable below this
temperature. An alkaline solution of K​2​HgI​4​ is called Nessler’s
reagent and is used to detect the presence of NH​4+​ with which it gives
a brown precipitate due to the formation of iodide of Million’s base.

Solved Examples for You

Question: Depict through chemical equations how the halides of
transition elements react?

Answer: Anhydrous halides of each of the transition elements can be

prepared by the direct reaction of the metal with halogens.

2Fe(s)+3Cl​2​(g)⟶2FeCl​3​(s)

Heating a metal halide with additional metal can be used to form a

halide of the metal with a lower oxidation state:

Fe(s)+2FeCl​3​(s)⟶3FeCl​2​(s)

The preparation of stable water solutions of the halides of the metals

of the first transition series is by the addition of a hydrohalic acid to
carbonates, hydroxides, oxides, or other compounds that contain basic
anions. NiCO​3​(s)+2HF(aq)⟶NiF​2​(aq)+H​2​O(l)+CO​2​(g)

The Actinoids

How many elements can you name? You know just ​nitrogen​, ​oxygen​,
carbon​? That’s it? What about actinoids? Do you know what these
are? If not, don’t panic, we are here to clear your doubts regarding
these new set of elements. Let’s learn about not-so-known elements.

Actinoids

Actinoids or actinides are 15 consecutive chemical elements in the

periodic table from actinium to lawrencium (atomic numbers 89​103).
As a group, they are significantly large because of their ​radioactivity​.
Although several members of the group, including uranium (the most
familiar), occur naturally, most are man-made.

Both uranium and plutonium have been used in atomic weapons for
their explosive power and currently are being employed in nuclear
plants for the production of ​electrical power​.

These elements are also called the actinide elements. However, the
International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry [IUPAC], the
International body in-charge of chemical nomenclature, prefers the
term actinoid, since the ‘-ide’ ending is usually reserved for negatively
charged ions.

Browse more Topics under The D And F Block Elements

● Electronic configuration of the d-block elements
● Position in the Periodic Table
● Some Applications of d and f-block elements
● Some Important Compounds of Transition Elements
● The Lanthanide
● General Properties of the Transition Elements (d-block)

Discovery

The first actinoids discovered were uranium in pitchblende ore by

Klaproth in 1789 and Thorium by Berzelius in 1829. Actinium was
discovered 1899 by André-Louis Debierne, an assistant of Marie
Curie.

Location in the Periodic Table

Actinoids form the bottommost row of the periodic table. They
include fifteen elements starting from Actinium (Ac) and further
include Thorium (Th), Protactinium (Pa), Uranium (U), Neptunium
(Np), Plutonium (Pu), Americium (Am), Curium (Cm), Berkelium
(Bk), Californium (Cf), Einsteinium (Es), Fermium (Fm),
Mendelevium (Md), Nobelium (No), and Lawrencium (Lr).

Are all the actinoids found naturally?

Actinium, thorium, protactinium, and uranium are the only actinoid

elements found in nature to a significant extent. The remaining
actinoid elements, commonly called the transuranic elements, are all
man-made by bombarding naturally occurring actinoids with ​neutrons
in reactors or with heavy ions in particle accelerators.

Thorium and uranium are the most abundant actinoids in nature with
respective mass concentrations of 16ppm and 4 ppm. Uranium mostly
occurs in the earth’s crust as a mixture of oxides in the ​minerals
uraninite also known as pitchblende because of its black colour. The
abundance of actinium in the earth’s crust is about 5 x 10−15%.
Actinium is mostly present in uranium-containing, but also in other
minerals, though in much smaller quantity.
Characteristics

● Actinoids are typical metals. All of them are soft and have a
silvery colour which tarnishes in air.
● They have relatively high density and ​plasticity​. Some of them
can be cut with a knife.
● All actinoids are radioactive, paramagnetic with the exception
of actinium, have several ​crystalline​ phases.
● All actinoids are pyrophoric, especially when finely divided,
that is, they spontaneously ignite upon reaction with air.
● Together with radium and transuranic elements, actinium is one
of the most dangerous radioactive poisons. The real danger
with the actinoid elements lies in the radioactive properties of
these elements. They are emitters of tissue-destroying and
cancer producing rays (alpha, beta, or gamma radioactivity).
Actinium can accumulate and remain in the surface layer of
skeletons. Less than one-millionth of a gram of some actinoid
isotope can be fatal.

Valency
All actinoids, unlike lanthanides, are highly reactive with halogens.
Thorium is rather active chemically owing to lack of electrons on 6d
and 5f orbitals. Protactinium exhibits two valence states; the +5 is
stable and the +4 state easily oxidizes to protactinium (V). Uranium
has a valency from 3 to 6, the last being most stable.

Neptunian has valence states from 3 to 7, which can be simultaneously

observed in solutions. Plutonium also exhibits valence states between
3 and 7 inclusive and thus is chemically similar to Neptunian and
uranium. It is highly reactive and quickly forms an oxide film in air.

Americium shows the diversity from other actinoids by showing

valency between 2 and 6. Valency 3 is dominant in all subsequent
elements up to lawrencium with the exception of nobelium.

Applications

● Actinide is mostly used in nuclear weapons and as a fuel in

nuclear reactors. The most important isotope for nuclear power
is uranium-235. This isotope strongly absorbs thermal neutrons
releasing much energy. One fission act of 1 gram of
uranium-235 converts into about 1 MW power.
 ● About half of the produced thorium is used as the light emitting
material of gas mantles.

There is a challenge to develop stable and durable actinoid-bearing

materials which provide safe storage, use, and final disposal.

Solved Examples for You

Question: How are the actinoids extracted?

Answer: Owing to their low abundance, the extraction of actinoids is a

complex and a multistep process. Fluorides of actinoids, which are
reduced with calcium, magnesium or barium, are usually used because
they are insoluble in water and can be easily separated by redox
reactions. Among the actinoids, uranium and thorium are the easiest to
extract.

The Lanthanide

What according to you are the number of elements present in and

around us? They are countable, but difficult to count them on fingers
as there are 118 of them. Among these are certain hidden elements (in
the periodic table) like the lanthanides that cannot be ignored. Let us
see the lanthanide elements are in detail.

Lanthanides

Lanthanoids, also called lanthanides are 15 consecutive chemical

elements in the periodic table from lanthanum to lutetium (atomic
numbers 57–71). With scandium and yttrium, they make up the
rare-earth metals. Their atoms have similar configurations and similar
physical and chemical behaviour; the most common valencies are 3.

(Source: Wikimedia)

As the elements in the series are chemically similar to lanthanum, they

are termed as lanthanoids. Even though these elements are called
lanthanides, the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry
[IUPAC], the international body in charge of chemical nomenclature,
prefers the term lanthanoid, since the ‘-ide’ending is usually reserved
for negatively charged ions.

Browse more Topics under The D And F Block Elements

● Electronic configuration of the d-block elements
● Position in the Periodic Table
● Some Applications of d and f-block elements
● Some Important Compounds of Transition Elements
● The Actinoids
● General Properties of the Transition Elements (d-block)

Location in the Periodic Table

In the periodic table, two additional rows below the main body of the
table as parts of the table’s sixth and seventh row (periods) are the
lanthanides and the actinides.

Elements

The fifteen lanthanide elements start from Lanthanum (La) and further
go with Cerium (Ce), Praseodymium (Pr), Neodymium (Nd),
Promethium (Pm), Samarium (Sm), Europium (Eu), Gadolinium (Gd),
Terbium (Tb), Dysprosium (Dy), Holmium (Ho), Erbium (Er),
Thulium (Tm), Ytterbium (Yb), and finally Lutetium (Lu).

Characteristics

● The lanthanide metals are soft; their hardness increases across

the series.
● Resistivity of the lanthanide metals is relatively high, ranging
from 29 to 134 μOhm·cm.
● The lanthanides are strongly paramagnetic. Gadolinium
becomes ferromagnetic at below 16°C (Curie point). The other
heavier lanthanides – terbium, dysprosium, holmium, erbium,
thulium, and ytterbium – become ferromagnetic at much lower
temperatures.
● Compared to most other nondietary elements, non-radioactive
lanthanides are classified as having low toxicity.
● The lanthanides obey the Oddo-Harkins rule – odd-numbered
elements are less abundant than their even-numbered
neighbours.
Oxidation States

All lanthanide elements commonly have the +3 oxidation state. All of

the lanthanides can form +2 complexes in solution.

Applications

● Nearly 15,000 tons/year of lanthanides is consumed as catalysts

to produce glasses. These 15,000 tons correspond to about 85%
of the lanthanide production.
● The optoelectronics applications use lanthanide ions as active
ions in luminescent materials. The most notable application is
the Nd: YAG laser. Erbium-doped fibre amplifiers are
significant devices in optical-fibre communication systems.
The television sets contain phosphors with lanthanide dopants.
The earliest colour television CRTs had a poor-quality red;
europium as a phosphor dopant made good red phosphors
possible.
● TIG welding uses a mixture of lanthanide oxides tungsten to
improve their high-temperature properties.
● Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) uses the complex Gd
(DOTA).
 ● Currently, lanthanides elements can also be used as anticancer
agents as per research. The main role of the lanthanides in these
studies is to inhibit proliferation of the cancer cells. Cerium and
lanthanum have been especially studied for their role as
anti-cancer agents.

The lanthanides have a low availability in the biosphere because of

their sparse distribution in the earth’s crust and low aqueous solubility.

Solved Examples for You

Question: What are rare earth metals?

Answer: Lanthanides are ‘rare earth’ metals. However, the IUPAC

disagrees with this term as the elements are neither rare nor earth.

General Properties of Transition

Elements (d-block)

We daily come across many transition elements. Tons of useful items,

right from the kitchen cutlery, ships, to the jewellery have transition
elements. Most abundantly found transition elements are iron and
titanium. To know more about these elements, let us have a closer
look at their various properties.

Transition Elements

Transition elements are those elements that have partially or

incompletely filled ​d​ orbital in their ground state or the most stable
oxidation​ state. The partially filled subshells of ​d​-block elements
incorporate (n-1) d subshell. All the ​d-​ block elements carry a similar
number of ​electrons​ in their furthest shell. Hence, they possess similar
chemical properties.

Placement of Transition Elements in the Periodic table

(Source: Wikimedia)

The transition elements are placed between S and P block elements.

They are divided as first transition series (the elements from Sc to Cu),
the second transition series (the elements from Y to Ag), and the third
transition series (the element La and the elements from Hf to Au).

Actinium (Ac) is the first member of the fourth transition element

series, which also consists elements from Rf to Rg. II- B Zn, Cd, and
Hg and III- A Sc, Y, La, and Ac are non-typical transition elements
while the remaining are typical transition elements.
General Properties

All transition elements exhibit similar properties because of the

identical ​electronic configuration​ of their peripheral shell. This
happens as each additional electron enters the penultimate 3d shell.
This creates an effective shield between the nucleus and the outer 4s
shell. The peripheral shell configuration of these elements is ns​2​. The
general properties of the transition elements are as follows:

● form stable complexes

● Have high melting and boiling points
● Contain large charge/​radius ratio
● Form compounds which are often paramagnetic
● Are hard and possess high densities
● Form compounds with profound ​catalytic activity
● Show variable oxidation states
● form coloured ​ions​ and compounds.

Metallic Nature

As there is less number of electrons in the peripheral shell, all the

transition elements are metals. They demonstrate the qualities of
metals, such as ductility and malleability they are excellent conductors
of ​electricity​ and heat. Apart from Mercury, which is fluid and
delicate like ​alkali metals​, all the transition elements are hard and
fragile.

Melting and boiling points

They show high melting and boiling points. This is due to the
overlapping of (n-1)d orbitals and covalent bonding of the unpaired d
orbital electrons. Zn, Cd, and Hg have totally filled (n-1)d orbitals.
They cannot frame covalent bonds. Thus, they have a lower melting
point than other ​d-​ block elements.

Ionic Radii

The transition elements are highly denser than the ​s b​ lock elements.
Their densities gradually decrease from scandium to copper because
of an irregular decrease in metallic radii and a relative increase in
atomic mass. The pattern of the ionic radius is same as that of the
atomic radii pattern. Hence, for ions of a given charge, the ionic radius
gradually decreases with an increment in atomic number.

Ionization Potential
The ionization potential of transition elements lies between s and p
block elements. They are less electropositive than the S-block
elements. Henceforth, they do not frame ​ionic compounds​ but
covalent compounds. They possess high ionization energy because of
their small size.

The ionization potential of ​d​-block elements increases from left to

right. The ionization energies of the primary transition elements
increase with the increase in the nuclear number. For example, Cr and
Cu have high energies than their neighbours.

Electronic configuration

The external electronic configuration is consistent. There is a gradual

filling of 3d orbitals across the series starting from scandium.
However, this filling is not regular, since, at chromium and copper, the
population of 3d orbitals increases by acquiring an electron from the
4s shell. At chromium, both the 3d and 4s orbitals are occupied, but
neither of the orbitals is completely filled. This indicates that the
energies of the 3d and 4s orbitals are relatively close for atoms in this
row. The electronic configurations of first, second, and third series
elements are as follows:
 First series: 1s​2​2s​2​p​6​3s​2​p​6​d​1-10​4s​2

Second series: 1s​2​2s​2​p​6​3s​2​p​6​d​1-10​4s​2​p​6​d​1-10​5s​2

Third series: 1s​2​2s​2​p​6​3s​2​p​6​d​1-10​4s​2​p​6​d​1-10​ 5s​2​p​6​d​1-10​6s​2

These three series of elements depend on the n-1 d orbital that is being
filled. An orbital of lower energy is filled first. Therefore, 4s orbital
with lesser energy is filled first to its full degree. After 4s, the 3d
orbital with higher energy is filled. The precisely, half-filled and
totally filled d-orbitals are exceptionally stable.

Oxidation state

All the transition elements, apart from the first and the last, display
various oxidation states. There is an increase in the number of
common oxidation states at first to a maximum toward the middle of
the table, and then there is a when we move from left to right across
the first transition series.

The elements scandium through manganese (the first half of the first
transition series), show the highest oxidation state as their valence
shell shows loss of all of the electrons in both the ​s a​ nd ​d ​orbitals. Iron
forms oxidation states from 2+ to 6+. Elements in first transition series
form ions with a charge of 2+ or 3+. The elements belonging to the
second and third transition series generally are more stable in higher
oxidation states than the elements of the first series. In general, as the
atomic radius increases down a group, ions of the second and third
series become larger than the ions in the first series.

Solved Examples for You

Question: What are inner transition elements?

Answer: These are a group of elements in the periodic table which are
normally shown in two separate rows below all the other elements.
They consist elements 57-71 (lanthanides) and 89-103 (actinides).