Abstract. The melting points of 3d transition metal elements show an unusual local minimal peak at manganese across Period 4 in the periodic table. The chemical bonding properties of scandium, titanium, vanadium, chromium, manganese, iron, cobalt, nickel and copper are investigated by the DV-X cluster method. The melting points are found to correlate with the bond overlap populations. The chemical bonding nature therefore appears to be the primary factor governing the melting points.
IntroductionIn general, the melting points of transition metals are much higher than those of main-group metals. The outermost as well as inner shell electrons contribute to the bonding in transition metals. Across Period 4 in the periodic table, the melting points of 3d transition metal elements show a maximal peak around vanadium and chromium. Further, the melting points decrease from chromium to copper and zinc. However, the melting points show a local minimal peak at manganese. This behavior is not entirely clear although there have been attempts to explain the anomaly [1,2].In the present work, the chemical bonding properties of scandium, titanium, vanadium, chromium, manganese, iron, cobalt, nickel and copper are investigated by the DV-X cluster method to clarify the local minimal peak at manganese.