- Metallic luster

- High electrical and thermal conductivity (Ag, Cu)

- Wide range of melting points and hardness

- Wide range of reactivity toward O₂

- Easily oxidized

- Readily form ionic complexes

- Many coordination compounds are coloured 

- Many coordination compounds are paramagnetic

- The valence electrons are in d orbitals.

- The d orbitals do not have a large radial extension.

- The d orbitals are, therefore, mostly nonbonding in complexes of transition metal ions.

- The effects of redox changes are substantially smaller for transition metals than for main group elements.

- 3d start to fill after 4s is full.

- Cr and Cu are exceptions to trend: both are 4s¹3dⁿ.

- Neutral TM: 3d and 4s orbitals similar in energy.

- 3d orbitals for TM ions much less E than 4s, so 4s electrons leave first (1st row TM ions do not have 4s electrons).

Electron Configurations for:

K

Ca

Sc

Ti

V

Cr

Mn

K: 4s¹

Ca: 4s²

Sc: 3d¹

Ti: 3d²

V: 3d³

Cr: 4s¹3d⁵

Mn: 3d5

Electron Configurations for:

Fe

Co

Ni

Cu

Zn

Ga

Fe: 3d⁶

Co: 3d⁷

Ni: 3d⁸

Cu: 4s¹3d¹⁰

Zn: 3d¹⁰

Ga: 4p¹

Electron Configurations for:

Ge

As

Se

Br

Kr

Ge: 4p²

As: 4p³

Se: 4p⁴

Br: 4p⁵

Kr: 4p⁶

- The real bulk of inorganic chemistry occurs in the reactions of coordination compounds (or complexes).

- A coordination compound contains a complex ion and a counter ion.

- Complex ion: a central metal ion surrounded by one or more ligands.

- Counter ion: ion that balances the charge of a complex ion to form a neutral compound.

- Ligands are ions or molecules that have an independent existence.

- The number of ligands around a central atom.

- Influenced by: size of the central atom, bulk of the ligands, electronic interactions between metal and ligand.

1) Cation named before anion.

2) Ligands named before metal ion.

3) -o is added to the end of anionic ligand names (ie chloro-). Neutral ligands retain their name mostly.

4) Use prefixes (ie mono-, di-) for the number of simple ligands; (bis-, tris- for multiple complex ligands).

5) Metal oxidation state is denoted with roman numerals in parentheses.

6) Ligands are named in alphabetical order.

7) If the complex ion has a negative charge, add "-ate" to the metal name. Sometimes the Latin name is used.

- Ligands produce an electrostatic field around the metal ion.

- d-orbital energies split in the electrostatic field.

- Electron occupancy of d-orbitals depends on the magnitude of the splitting.

- Crystal field model does not explain complex geometry or bonding.

- The ligands on a metal complex influence the energy of the d orbitals.

- Orbitals that point directly at ligands are higher in energy.

- Orbitals that point between ligands are lower in energy.

- Low spin compounds yield minimum number of unpaired electrons.

- Diamagnetic.

- High spin compounds yield maximum number of unpaired electrons.

- Paramagnetic.

- Large photon energy -> small wavelength -> complex absorbs blue end of spectrum. [See red]

- Small photon energy -> large wavelength -> complex absorbs red end of specturm. [See blue]