transition element

English

Noun

transition element (plural transition elements)

1. (chemistry) Any element in the d block of the periodic table (i.e. groups 3 to 12 inclusive).
2. (chemistry, dated) The same, but excluding the group 12 elements (i.e. groups 3 to 11 inclusive).
3. (chemistry, dated) Any of the group of metallic elements that have an incomplete inner (d) electron shell, having multiple valencies and forming coloured compounds and stable complex ions.

Usage notes

• The group 12 elements zinc, cadmium, mercury (and copernicium) are sometimes excluded from this group. The IUPAC 2005 Red Book allows for this, but not the IUPAC 2011 Principles of Chemical Nomenclature.

Synonyms

• transition metal

Hyponyms

transition elements

scandium, titanium, vanadium, chromium, manganese, cobalt, nickel, copper, zinc, yttrium, zirconium, niobium (columbium), molybdenum, technetium, ruthenium, rhodium, palladium, silver, cadmium, lutetium (cassiopeium), hafnium, tantalum, tungsten (wolfram), rhenium, osmium, iridium, platinum, gold, mercury, lawrencium, rutherfordium (kurchatovium, dubnium), dubnium (hahnium, nielsbohrium, joliotium), seaborgium (rutherfordium), bohrium (nielsbohrium), hassium (hahnium), meitnerium, darmstadtium, roentgenium, copernicium

Translations

in chemistry

• Afrikaans: oorgangselement
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 過渡金屬／过渡金属 (zh) (guòdù jīnshǔ)

• Finnish: siirtymäalkuaine
• Romanian: element de tranziție n
• Serbo-Croatian: prijelazni element m
• Spanish: elemento de transición m

See also

• lanthanide
• actinide