Scandium in Periodic Table

Scandium (Sc), chemical element of Group-3 of the period table. It is the beginning member of the first three transition series with d1s2 electronic configuration over a closed noble gas shell. It follows the strong electropositive elements of Group-2 and less electropositive than the proceeding group or Group-2 or alkali earth. Generally, ionization energy falls slowly along with the group, being keeping with the increasing size. With the presence of one d electron in the valence shell, scandium is considered as a transition metal. However not much of the properties like oxidation number or state variation like other transition metals.

Properties and Occurrence

The silvery-white hexagonal crystal lattice, scandium has the chemical symbol Sc, atomic number 21, atomic weight 44.956, melting point 1539 °C, boiling point 2836 °C, density 2.985 gm/cm3, and valence shell electronic configuration [Ar] 3d1 4s2. The common oxidation number or states of metal +3 with no electron in the valence d-orbitals. The properties of scandium compounds are intermediate between those of aluminum and yttrium due to the presence of a diagonal relationship that exists between the behavior of magnesium and scandium, just as there is between beryllium and aluminum.

Scandium has only one common oxidation state +3 with no d-electron. In fact, the element lacks the characteristics of transition elements and usually occurs with the lanthanides. The chemistry of scandium resembles that of aluminum very closely. Mendeleev rightly named the element as eka-boron. It dissolves in both acids and alkalies and forms ionic halides like ScX3.

In Earth’s crust, scandium is not rare. The abundance of the element in earth 18 to 25 ppm, which is comparably less than that of cobalt (20–30 ppm). Scandium is only the 50th most abundant element on Earth and 35th most abundant in the crust, but it is the 23rd most abundant element in the Sun.