Some Important Compounds of Transition Elements

Among the very large number of compounds that the first-row transition metals form, a small set stands out because of its industrial and analytical importance — chiefly the oxides and oxoanions in which a metal reaches one of its higher oxidation states. Two members of this set, potassium dichromate and potassium permanganate, are used so widely as oxidising agents that their preparation, structure, and redox behaviour are worth studying in detail: how each is manufactured starting from a naturally occurring ore or mineral, what the shapes of their characteristic coloure …