23: The Transition Elements
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- 23.1: General Properties of Transition Metals
- Transition metals are defined as those elements that have (or readily form) partially filled d orbitals. The d-block elements in groups 3–11 are transition elements. The f-block elements, also called inner transition metals (the lanthanides and actinides), also meet this criterion because the d orbital is partially occupied before the f orbitals. The d orbitals fill with the copper family (group 11); for this reason, group 12 are technically not transition elements.
- 23.8: Lanthanides
- The Lanthanides consist of the elements in the f-block of period six in the periodic table. While these metals can be considered transition metals, they have properties that set them apart from the rest of the elements.