A

Project on

PROPERTIES OF TRANSITION METALS

For

The Submission of the Practical Fulfillment of the

AISSCE CBSE Practical Examination

In

CHEMISTRY

Submitted By

DISHA KUMARI

Under the supervision

Of

DR. ANIRUDH PORVAL

P.G.T CHEMISTRY

Gayatri Vidyapeeth

GAYATRI VIDYAPEETH, SHANTIKUNJ

HARIDWAR-249411
 CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that, DISHA KUMARI, the student of class “XII
SCIENCE”, during the year 2022-2023, has successfully completed her
investigatory project on PROPERTIES OF TRANSITION METALS, for
the fulfillment of board examination conducted by C.B.S.E. During the tenure,
original and genuine investigation work has been carried out to investigate
about the subject matter and investigation has been completed solely, sincerely
and satisfactorily.

DR. ANIRUDH PORVAL

P.G.T CHEMISTRY

GAYATRI VIDYAPEETH
SHANTIKUNJ, HARIDWAR
 Certificate
This is to certify that, DISHA KUMARI, the student of class “XII
SCIENCE”, during the year 2022-2023, has successfully completed her
investigatory project on PROPERTIES OF TRANSITION METALS, for
the fulfillment of board examination conducted by C.B.S.E. During the tenure,
original and genuine investigation work has been carried out to investigate
about the subject matter and investigation has been completed solely, sincerely
and satisfactorily.

MR. SR. SINHA

PRINCIPAL

GAYATRI VIDYAPEETH

SHANTIKUNJ, HARIDWAR
 Acknowledgement
Presentation , inspiration and motivation has always played a key role in the
success of my venture. In the success and final outcome of this project require
a lot of guidance and assistance from people and I am extremely privileged to
got this all along the completion of my project. All that I have done is only due
to such supervision and assistance and I would not forget to thank them.

Firstly I would like to express my sincere gratitude to DR.ANIRUDH

PORVAL, P.G.T CHEMISTRY, GAYATRI VIDYAPEETH,
SHANTIKUNJ ,HARIDWAR, for inspiring me in choosing the most
appropriate and suitable project for me, continuous support for my project
related research, for his patience, motivation and immense knowledge. His
guidance helped me in all the time of research and writing for this thesis. I
could not have imagined having a better advisor and mentor for my project.

Secondly I am very thankful to MR. S.R. SINHA, PRINCIPAL, GAYATRI

VIDYAPEETH, SHANTIKUNJ, HARIDWAR, for providing us the
laboratory facilities, guidance and support.

I am immensely thankful to my classmate for the stimulating discussions, for

the continuous support and help which they provided me to achieve the perfect
completion of investigatory project, and for all the fun we have had in the one
year.

Last but not the least, I would like to thank my parents for supporting me
spiritually throughout writing this thesis and my life is general and providing
me the facilities of internet and gadgets so that I can prepare my project in a
fine way.
 Content
 Introduction
 General Trends in the Chemistry of First Transition Series Elements
 Exceptional Behaviour of zinc, mercury and cadmium
 Uses of Transition Metals
 Conclusion
 Refrences
 introduction
The periodic table has been divided into four blocks and the inclusion of an
element in a particular block depends upon its electronic configuration
especially the valence shell configuration. The d-block is present in the centre
of the periodic table and the elements are known as transition elements. There
are four periods or transition series included in the block; each having ten
elements since the d-sub-shell can have a maximum of ten electrons. Most of
the elements belonging to fourth transition series have been discovered in
recent years.
Classification of d-block elements :
A transition element is defined as the one which has incompletely filled d-
orbitals in its ground state or in any of its oxidation states; except for those
present in group 12. These are Zn, Cd, and Hg. They have completely filled d-
orbitals (d10 configuration). They differ in many characteristics as compared to
rest of the elements belonging to the same period. There are four transition
series in the d-block starting with electronic configuration, 3d, 4d, 5d and 6d
respectively.
(a) First transition series or 3d-series : Elements from atomic number 21 to
30 are included in this series. These are 10 elements in this series viz.,
Sc(21), Ti(22), V(23), Cr(24), Mn(25), Fe(26), Co(27), Ni(28), Cu(29),
Zn(30) corresponding to the filling of 3d-subshell.

(b) Second transition series or 4d-series : Elements from atomic number 39

to 48 are included in this series. There are 10 elements in this series
viz., Y(39), Zr(40), Nb(41), Mo(42), Tc(43), Ru(44), Rh(45), Pd(46),
Ag(47)and Cd(48) corresponding to the filling of 4d-subshell.

(c) Third transition series or 5d-series : Elements with atomic number 57

and from 72 to 80 are included in this series. There are ten elements in
this series viz., La(57) , Hf(72), Ta(73), W(74), Re(75), Os(76), Ir(77),
Pt(78), Au(79) and Hg(80) corresponding to the filling of 5d-subshell.
Elements from 58 to 71 are f-block elements because after the filling of
one electron in 5d-subshell in La(57), 4f-subshell starts filling with
elements having atomic number from 58 to 71. These are called
Lanthanoids because they follow lanthanum (la) with Z=57.

(d) Fourth transition series or 6d-series: Elements with atomic number 89

and from 104 to 112 are included in this series. These are : Ac(89), Rf(104),
Db(105), Sg(106), Bh(107), Hs(108), Mt(109), Ds(110), Rg(111), Cn(112).
The characteristics of some of these elements are still to be established.
Therefore, enough information is not known about them. Elements from 90 to
103 are present in f-block (filling takes place in 5f-subshell). These are known
are as Actinoids because they follow actinium (Ac) with Z=89.

Position in the Periodic Table :

The d-block is present in the centre of the long form of periodic table. These
are surrounded by elements belonging to s-and p-blocks on the both sides.
These are called transition elements since they represent a transition i.e., there
is a change from metallic character of s-block elements to non metallic
character of p-block elements through d-block elements which are also metals.
As pointed above, there are four transition series in this block. Since the filling
of electrons takes place in (n-1)d orbitals, the periods to which these series
belong, is actually one more than the actual series. For example, the elements
included in 3d series belong to fourth period ; the elements included in 4d
series belong to fifth period and so on.

The general electronic configuration of the d-block elements is :

[Inert gas] (n-1)d1-10 n s1-2
The d-sub-shell is penultimate (last but one) sub-shell and is denoted as (n-1)d-
sub-shell. The number of electrons may vary from one to ten. The s-sub-shell
in the valence shell is represented as ns sub-shell and it may have one to two
electrons. However, palladium (Pd) is an exception as its atom has no electron
in the s-sub-shell. In the periodic table, the transition metals are present in ten
groups (3 to 12). The group-2 belongs to the s-block with ns 2 configuration of
the elements present. Thus, the elements in group-3 have ns 2 (n-1)d1
configuration. The first transition series is present in the fourth period and it
starts after Ca (Z=20) of group-2. Its configuration is [Ar] 4s 2. Thus, the
electronic configuration of the first element of group -3 i.e. scandium (Sc) with
atomic number (Z=21) is [Ar] 4s 2 3d1. As we move from left to right, the
electrons are added in the same d-sub-shell till it is complete. The elements
belonging to group-12 in the first transition series is zinc (Zn) and its
configuration is [Ar] 4s2 3d10. Because of the fact that the electrons are filled in
the (n-1)d orbitals, the properties of the d-block elements are quite different
from those of s-and-p-block elements in which the filling occurs either in s or
in p-orbitals, both belonging to the valence shell.
 Group 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

At. No. 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

Element Sc Ti V Cr Mn Fe Co Ni Cu Zn

Config. 3d14s2 3d24s2 3d34s2 3d54s1 3d54s2 3d64s2 3d74s2 3d84s2 3d104s1 3d104s2
First (3d) Transition Series (Sc-Zn)

Second (4d) Transition Series (Y-Cd)

At. No. 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48
Element Y Zr Nb Mo Tc Ru Rh Pd Ag Cd

Config. 4d15s2 4d25s2 4d45s1 4d55s1 4d55s2 4d75s1 4d85s1 4d105s0 4d105s1 4d105s2

Third (5d) Transition Series (La-Hg)

At. No. 57 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80
Element La Hf Ta W Re Os Ir Pt Au Hg
Config. 5d16s2 5d26s2 5d36s2 5d46s2 5d56s2 5d66s2 5d76s2 5d96s1 5d106s1 5d106s2

Fourth (6d) Transition Series (Ac - Uub)

At.No. 89 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112
Elemen Ac Rf Db Sg Bh Hs Mt Ds Rg Cn
t
Config. 6d17s2 6d27s2 6d37s2 6d47s2 6d57s2 6d67s2 6d77s2 6d87s2 6d107s1 6d107s2

There are certain exceptions identified by bold letters. These are either because
of symmetry or nuclear-electron and electron-electron forces.
The (n-1)d orbitals that are involved in the transition metals are very significant
because they influence their properties such as magnetic character; variable
oxidation states, formation of coloured compounds etc. The valence s (ns) and
p (np) electrons are very little contribution in this regard since they hardly
change in moving from left to the right in a transition series.
In transition metals, there is a greater horizontal similarities in the properties of
the elements in a period in comparison to the periods in which the d- orbitals
are not involved . This is on account of the reason, that in a transition series,
the valence shell electronic configuration of the elements do not change.
However, there are some group similarities as well.

general trends in the

chemistry of first transition
series elements
Just like s-block elements which are all typical metals, the elements belonging
to the transition series which follow them are also metallic in nature. They
depict typical characteristics of metals such as high m.p., high b. P., metallic
lustre, high thermal and electrical conductivity. The variation in the metallic
properties is linked with the variation in the crystal lattices of these elements.
Most of the elements belonging to the fourth transition series have been
discovered quite recently .Their characteristics are still to be investigated
properly.
Melting points :
The transition metals, in general, are quite hard and have high melting points.
Actually, they have very strong metallic bonds due to the involvement of both
ns and (n-1)d electrons. Along each transition series, they tend to increase with
the increase in the atomic number (or number of upaired electrons). Midway,
they become maximum in the elements having d 5 configuration (maximum
number no. Of unpaired electrons). Then they show downward trends. Mn and
Tc have lower melting probably due to the reason that they have stable
electronic configuration (d5configuration). This tends to reduce the forces of
interaction between the atoms resulting in the weakening of the metallic bonds.
Enthalpy of atomisation :
Apart from high melting points, the transition metals have very high
enthalpies of atomisation also. It may also be defined as enthalpy change
involved in breaking the metallic lattice of crystalline metal into atoms.
The enthalpy of atomisation decreases along the series. The value for the last
element Zn is the minimum. Since it has fully filled d-orbital
(d10configuration), there are no d-d interactions. Since 4s orbital is also filled,
the metallic bonding is quite weak. These factors are responsible for the
minimum enthalpy of atomisation of the element. The trend reveals that the
metals present in the 4d and 5d series have greater magnitude of enthalpy of
atomisation as compared to the elements in the 3d series. The metallic bonds
are stronger in these due to the greater involvement of the electrons in the
metallic bond formation.

Atomic radii :
The atomic radii of the elements in the3d- series are given below :
Elements Sc Ti V Cr Mn Fe Co Ni Cu Zn
Atomic 144 132 122 117 117 117 116 115 117 125
radii(pm)
Metallic 164 147 135 129 137 126 125 125 128 137
radii(pm)
The metallic radii of transition elements are slightly more than the atomic radii
which are covalent radii. The atomic radii as expected, lie in between those of s
and p-block elements. For example, the atomic radius of Sc (144 pm) is less
than that of Ca (197pm) and the atomic radius of Zn (125pm) is less than of Ga
(135). Both these elements are also present in the same period (period-4).
The values of the atomic radii reveals that these initially decrease from Sc to V
and become almost constant from Cr to Cu. The last element Zn has
comparatively high atomic radius .
Within a transition series, the decrease in atomic radii in the beginning is due to
the increase in the effective nuclear charge with the increase in atomic number.
However, with the increase in the number of electrons in the (n-1)d-subshell,
the screening effect of these d-electrons on the outermost ns-electrons also
increases. This increased screening effect neutralises the effect of increased
nuclear charge and as such the atomic radii remain almost constant in the
middle of the series. Increase in atomic radii towards the end may be attributed
to the inter-electronic repulsions. The pairing of electrons in the d-orbitals of
the penultimate shell occurs only after the d-subshell is half filled i.e., it has
five electrons. The repulsive interactions between the paired electrons in the d-
orbitals of the penultimate shell become dominant towards the end of the series
and cause the expansion of the electron cloud, thereby increasing the atomic
size.
Ionic Radii :
Being metals in nature, the transition elements form cations and their radii as
expected, are less than the atoms to which they belong. The radii of bivalent
cations (M2+) are given for comparison, although these elements have tendency
to show variable oxidation states.
Ion Ti2+ V2+ Cr2+ Mn2+ Fe2+ Co2+ Ni2+ Cu2+ Zn2+

Ionic 90 88 84 80 76 74 72 69 71
radii
(pm)

Scandium with 4s2 3d1 configuration does not form M2+ ion as it has only one
electron in the 3d sub- shell. The trend in the ionic radii is quite expected
because with the increase in the atomic number, the effective nuclear charge
increases thereby decreasing the radius of the ion. It may be remembered that
the radii of a transition metal ions decrease with the increase in the oxidation
state. For example, Fe2+ (76pm) and Fe3+(64pm).

Metallic Character :
Transition elements in general, exhibit all the characteristics of metals i.e.,
they are hard , lustrous, malleable and ductile. Apart from that, these have also
high melting and boiling points. Moreover, they have typical metallic closed
packed structures as a well (hcp, ccp or bcc). With the exception of mercury,
which is liquid at room temperature, all others are hard solids.
 Elemen Sc Ti V Cr Mn Fe Co Ni Cu Zn
t
Metalli 164 147 135 129 137 126 125 125 128 137
c radius
(pm)

The electronic configuration of these elements reveals that they have one or
more unpaired electrons present in either ns or (n-10) d – orbitals which are
available for bond formation. In general, greater the number of such electrons
available, more will be the chances of their mutual combination and more will
be the strength of the metallic bond. That is why these metals are very hard.
Copper (Cu), silver (Ag) and gold (Au) present in group 11 are known as
Coinage metals or currency metals because these are used for making
coins as well as jewellery.
Ionisation Enthalpies :
The ionisation enthalpies of the transition metals are higher than those of s-
block elements and less than the elements of p-block. Thus, these are less
electropositive than the elements of s- block and at the same time more
electropositive than the elements belonging to p- block present in the same
period. In a transition series, the ionisation enthalpies increase from left to
right.
The increase in ionisation enthalpy is primarily due to increase in nuclear
charge which would tend to attract the electron cloud with greater force. Thus,
ionisation enthalpy is expected to increase. As the transition elements involve
the gradual filling of electrons in (n- 1)d-subshell, this also increases the
screening effect. With the increase in the number of (n-1)d electrons, the outer
ns electrons are shielded more and more. Thus, the effect of increasing nuclear
charge is opposed by the increase in the magnitude of screening effect.
Consequently, the increase in the ionisation enthalpies of the transition ,metals
is very limited.
Variable Oxidation States :
A characteristic property of transition elements is their ability to exhibit several
oxidation states. These different oxidation states of the transition elements are
related to the electronic configuration of their atoms.
Transition elements show variable oxidation states due to the participation of
ns and (n-1)d electrons in bonding because the energies of ns and (n-1)d-
subshells are quite close. In general, lower oxidation state is exhibited when ns
electrons participate in bonding and higher oxidation states are shown when ns
as well as (n-1)d-electrons take part in bonding. The stability of a particular
oxidation state depends upon the nature of the element with which the
transition metal forms the compound. The highest oxidation state shown by a
transition element belonging to the 3d series is +7 i.e., by Mn.
Magnetic Properties :
The two types of magnetic behaviour are exhibited by the substances. These
are diamagnetism and paramagnetism. Diamagnetic substances are repelled by
the applied magnetic field while paramagnetic substances are attracted towards
it.

The magnetic moment of an electron is partly due to its orbital motion and
partly because of its spin motion. Actually each electron may be regarded as
micromagnet having a definite magnetic moment. The total magnetic moment
of a substance is the resultant of the moments of all such individual electrons.
In case of transition metal ions, the unpaired electrons are present in outer
shells. As a result, the spin motion has much more contribution towards the
magnetic moment as compared to orbital motion. The magnetic moment is
calculated from spin only fomula, gives as

u=√n(n+2)

where n represents the number of unpaired electrons,u is the magnetic moment

and is expressed in units knows as Bohr-magneton(B.M).

Formation of Complex Compounds :

One of the important characteristics of the members of the transition metal ions
is their tendency to take part in the formation of complex compounds with
some inorganic ions such as X- , OH-, CN- etc with some nutral molecules like
NH3, H2O and amines ( RNH2) etc. A few examples are [Cu(NH 3)4]2+ ,
[Ag(NH3)2]+ , [Fe(CN)6]3- etc.

These complexes arise because of the formation of co-ordination bonds

between electron donor molecules or ions and electron deficient metal
cation.√n(The electron donor species are known as ligands and the complex
formed is enclosed in square brackets.

Formation Of Coloured ions :

A few of the transition metal ions such as Sc(III), Ti(IV), Cu(I), Zn(II) are
colourless. In these ions, the (n-1)d-sub-shell is either empty or completely
filled. Other transition metal ions such as, Cu(II), Ti(III), Co(II), Fe(III) with
one to nine electrons in (n-1)d-sub-shell coloured. This property of the
transition metal ions has been extensively used for detection and estimation of
these ions.

In a transition metal atom or ion, all the five d-orbitals have the same energy i.e
these are degenerate orbitals. However, three out of these (d xy, dyz, dzx) orbitals
differ in shape from the other two (d x2-y2,dz2). When ligands, both neutral or
anionic approach these species, the orbitals no longer remain degenerate, and
split into two sets of orbitals. This is called crystal field splitting*. One set with
lower energy has three orbitals (d xy, dyz, dzx), whereas the other set with slightly
higher energy has two orbitals (dx2-y2,dz2). Thus, promotion of one or more
electrons from a set of lower energy orbitals to a set of higher energy orbitals
within the same sub-shell is possible in case of transition elements with partly
filled (n-1) d-sub-shell. Since these two sets of orbitals belonging to the same
sub-shell have slightly different energies, the energy required to promote one
or more electrons are small. Radiations of light corresponding to such a small
amount of energy are available within the visible region of the spectrum. Thus,
when white light falls on such a transition metal compound, some radiations
corresponding to certain colour are absorbed and one or more electrons are
raised from lower energy set of orbitals to higher energy set of orbitals. With
the absorption of radiations corresponding to specific colour from the white
light, a colour known as the complementary colour is observant or is
transmitted. For example, Cu2+ salts are blue because in Cu 2+ ion (3d9), the
unpaired electron absorbs particular wavelengths in the visible region of light
and the transmitted complementary colour is blue.

Catalytic Properties :

The transition metals and some of their compounds acts as catalysts in many
chemical reaction. A few typical catalysts by them are listed :

 Vanadium pentoxide (V2O5) is used in contact process for the

manufacture of sulphuric acid.
 Finely divided iron and molybdenum are used in Haber process for the
manufacture of ammonia.
  Finely divided nickel powder is used in hydrogenation of unsaturated
organic compounds e.g., in the manufacture of vanaspati ghee.
 Manganese dioxide (MnO2) is used as a catalyst in the decomposition of
hydrogen peroxide.

Formation of Interstitial Compounds :

Interstitial compounds are the compounds formed as a result of the trapping of

the atoms of the small elements like H, N, C, B etc. in the crystal lattices of
certain metals. Transition metals have tendency to form such compounds. The
characteristics of interstitial compounds are as follows :

 These are generally non stoichiometric in nature. Therefore, they cannot

be representived by a definite structure or formula.
 The compounds are neither covalent nor ionic and they do not represent
the normal oxidation states of the metals.
 Since the strengths of the metallic bonds in these compounds increase
due to greater electronic interactions, they show high melting points and
high metallic conductivity.
 These compounds are chemically inert.

Formation of Alloys :

Transition metals form a number of alloys. Such alloys are hard, have high
melting points and are more resistant to corrosion than the pure metals. In these
alloys, properties such as malleability and ductility are lost to smaller or greater
extent.

The tendency of the transition metals to form large number of alloys can be
explained on the basis of their atomic sizes. The atomic sizes of transition
metals are very similar and hence in the crystal lattice, atoms of one metal can
be readily replaced with atoms of another transition metal. This results in the
formation of solid solution or alloys.
 Exceptional behaviour of
zinc mercury and cadmium
Zinc the last member of the first transition series is anomalous in behaviour.
Through it is the member of the same series, but it differs in most of the
characteristics. For example,

 The atomic radii and ionisation enthalpies are higher as compared to rest
of the members.
 Transition metals generally form complex compounds but zinc has very
little tendency to form complex compounds.
 Compounds of zinc are white while those of the other member are
coloured.
 Zinc does not show variable oxidation states in its compounds.

Uses of transition metals

The transition metals of d-block are immensely useful. Infact they represent the
backbone of industry. A few important uses are listed.

 Iron and steel are the most common building materials. Steel mixed with
small amount of nickel, cobalt, chrome, tungsten, molybdenum,
manganese, etc. acquires special properties. These are known as alloy
steels.
 Gold is precious metal as we all know, is used for making different types
of jewellery.
 Transition metals and their compounds acts as catalysts for different
industrial processes as well as in the laboratory. For example,
manganese, nickel, iron, cadmium, chromium, platinum, zinc etc.
 Copper behave as a good conductor of heat and electricity. The alloys of
copper such as brass, bronze, german silver, gun metal etc. have wide
range of utility in industry.
 Silver nitrate is used for silvering of mirrors and is also a useful reagent
in the laboratory.
 Silver bromide finds utility in photography.
 CONCLUSION
The d-block consisting of groups 3-12 occupies the large middle section
of the periodic table. In these elements the inner d orbitals are
progressively filled. Corresponding to the filling of 3d, 4d, and 5d
orbitals, three series of transition elements are well recognised. All the
transition elements exihibit typical metallic properties such as high
tensile strength, ductility, malleability, thermal and electrical
conductivity and metallic character. Their melting and boilin points are
high which are attributed to the involvement of (n-1)d electrons resulting
into strong interatomic bonding. In many of these properties, the maxima
occur at about the middle of each series which indicates that one
unpaired electron per d orbital is particularly a favourable configuration
for strong interatomic interaction.
The transition elements vary widely in their chemical behaviour. Many
of them are sufficiently electropositive to dissolve in mineral acids,
although a few are “noble”. Of the first series, with the exception of
copper, all the metals are relatively reactive.
There are many useful applications of the d-block elements and their
compounds, among them being in varieties of steels, catalysts,
complexes, organic synthesis, etc.
 REFRENCES
https://ncert.nic.in /textbook
www.goggle.com
https://www.vedantu.com
https://www.hcpgcollege.edu.in
https://chem.libretexts.org
https://wikipedia.org
https://ncert. Nic.in
https://unacademy.com