How do you rank metallic character?

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How do you rank metallic character?

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Answer 1 · 2016-12-28T23:05:59

Usually by electronegativity, i.e. the ability to attract electron density towards oneself. For example:

Metallic character tends to increase downwards, since the lower halogens are less electronegative than the ones closer to $F$ $"F"$ .

That is reflected in that:

$F$ $"F"$ is a gas ( $T_{b p} = - {188.1}^{\circ} C$ $T_(bp) = -188.1^@ "C"$ ),

$Cl$ $"Cl"$ is a denser gas ( $3.2 g/L$ $"3.2 g/L"$ vs. $1.696 g/L$ $"1.696 g/L"$ ),

$Br$ $"Br"$ is a liquid ( $T_{m p} = - 7^{\circ} C$ $T_(mp) = -7^@ "C"$ , $T_{b p} = {58.8}^{\circ} C$ $T_(bp) = 58.8^@ "C"$ ),

$I$ $"I"$ is a solid ( $T_{m p} = {113.7}^{\circ} C$ $T_(mp) = 113.7^@ "C"$ ),

and $At$ $"At"$ is denser than $I$ $"I"$ (formally a nonmetal, but denser than a solid!).

Metallic character tends to increase leftwards, since electronegativity tends to decrease leftwards on the periodic table.

Hence, $Li$ $"Li"$ is more of a metal than $N$ $"N"$ , which is obvious, because $N_{2}$ $"N"_2$ is a gas in natural conditions, and $Li$ $"Li"$ is literally of the "alkali metal" class.

Overall, it therefore means that metallic character has a general trend towards the lower left of the periodic table (with some exceptions in the transition metals of course).

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How do you rank metallic character?

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