Group 10
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Group 10 (also called Group 10 of the transition metals) is the tenth column of the periodic table of chemical elements. It contains four elements: nickel (Ni), palladium (Pd), platinum (Pt), and darmstadtium (Ds). All belong to the transition metals, meaning that their electron configuration has a partially filled d subshell.
The three naturally occurring elements—nickel, palladium, and platinum—are hard metals with silvery color, malleable and ductile. They are renowned for their ability to function as catalysts, substances that speed up chemical reactions without being consumed. Darmstadtium is a synthetic element, produced in particle accelerators, and is extremely unstable.
General properties
Elements of Group 10 have high melting points, particularly platinum. They can adopt various oxidation states, but +2 is among the most common for nickel and palladium; for platinum both +2 and +4 are common. The electron configuration of this group does not follow a uniform pattern: nickel is written as 3d⁸4s², palladium as 4d¹⁰ with no 5s electrons, and platinum as 5d⁹6s¹. This variation is one reason why the properties of this group do not descend the column uniformly.
Occurrence and extraction
Nickel is the most abundant element in Group 10 by crustal abundance, extracted from ores such as sulfides and laterites. Palladium and platinum belong to the group known as platinum group metals (PGM), which naturally occur together; they are also obtained as byproducts from nickel and copper extraction.
Applications
Nickel is used to make alloys such as stainless steel, and in batteries (nickel-metal hydride). Palladium and platinum are used in catalytic converters for vehicle emission control, in medical devices, in dentistry, and in some platinum-based cancer drugs. Platinum is also used in thermocouples and in jewelry.
Darmstadtium
Darmstadtium is an extremely heavy element produced in nuclear accelerators in Germany. All its isotopes are radioactive with very short half-lives, so its chemical properties have been tested only minimally and are largely inferred from theory.