This is Btec Applied Science Unit 13 Assignment C (Properties and reactions of transition metal complexes) which was awarded a distinction and contains all the practical results. This is an example of a Distinction level assignment, and you may use it as a guide to help you achieve a distinction an...
Unit 13: Applications of Inorganic Chemistry
C: Investigate practically a range of reactions involving solutions of transition metal ions in order to
understand the basis for their qualitative analysis.
Assignment Title: Properties and reactions of transition metal complexes.
Transition metal: Any chemical element that is a transition metal has two rather than one valence
shells, which means that these electrons can aid in the formation of chemical bonds. The outermost
electron of a transitional element is positioned in a d subshell, resulting in ions with a partially filled d-
orbital. This suggests that all of the transition elements are included in the d-block in the middle of the
periodic table. All transition elements are present in the d-block, however not all of them are transition
metals. This enables some elements, such as scandium and zinc, to form ions that have either an empty
(Sc) or a full (Zn) d-orbital. Transition elements are those that only produce ions with partly filled d-
orbitals. The term "transition" is useful to distinguish between similarities in atomic structure and the
consequent qualities of that element, even though it has no particular value from a chemical
perspective. The periodic table of elements is located on each side of the left and right groups for
considerable distances. They specifically make up group 3. The transition metal characteristics originate
from imperfect d subplanes. These characteristics include high melting temperatures, high densities,
oxidation state shifts, the production of coloured ions, and catalytic activity.
Vanadium (Transition metal) Mercury (Not a transition metal)
Solid Liquid
(Ar) 4s2 3d3 (Xe) 4f¹⁴ 5d¹⁰ 6s²
Forms at least 1 ion with partially filled D sub shell Forms 1 ion with full D sub shell
Yellow flame Red flame
Has a melting point of 1890 C° Has a melting point of -38.9C°
Has a boiling point of 3380 C° Has a boiling point of 356.7 C°
Due to the partial filling of the outermost d orbitals, vanadium is a transition metal. Vanadium has a
valence loss potential of 5. The capacity of transition metals to adopt different oxidation states is one of
their characteristics. Since Mercury only has one valence electron in its outermost shell and hence no
partially filled d orbitals, it does not fulfil these requirements. Despite being near to other transition
elements on the periodic table, mercury is not categorised as a transition metal.
Ligand: In chemistry, a ligand is an atom or molecule bound to a central atom,
often a metallic element, of a coordination chemical or complex chemical.
Ligands are mostly atoms and molecules that act as electron-pair donors in
coordinated covalent bonds with metal atoms. Examples of common ligands
include the neutral molecules water (H2O), ammonia (NH3), carbon monoxide
(CO), and the anions cyanide (CN-), chloride (Cl-), and hydroxide (OH-). In rare
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cases, the ligand can be a cation or an electron pair acceptor (such as NO+ or uploads/2022/04/1-102.png
N2H5+). Fe(CO)5 and [Ni(H2O)6]2+ are examples of complexes where the ligands
are the same, but Co(CO)3(NO), which includes both CO and NO ligands, is an
example of a complex where the ligands are different. When the ligand is joined to the metal by just one
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