d-block elements 1: Electronic configuration & trend in m.p.
This is the first in a series of video lesson on d-block elements and their compounds. I look at the electronic configurations of the first row and try to explain the trend in their melting points.
Minimizing electron repulsion is the most important consideration at play in these atoms and ions, but it is not the only one. This lesson is aimed at High School level and I only attempt to provide a simplified explanation. The following three points are perhaps worth adding: (1) the 4s orbital behaves as the outermost energy orbital - and as a result they nearly always lose a minimum of 2 electrons. (2) in addition to energy levels of orbitals, you need to factor in both their shape and closeness to one another - facilitating electron movements between them. (3) atomic orbitals can mix (hybridize) and at times the actual electronic configuration of the ions may be more complex than shown here.
By Frank Scullion