Main group chemistry general trends

The authors have also discussed whether there are any general trends which have become apparent. Although there are variations from Group to Group, there is an overall impression that the quantity of worthwhile published research in the area of Main-group chemistry has diminished somewhat during the past year. 

The atoms of transition elements do not display the same general trend as the main group elements. A key reason for this is that electrons are added to inner energy levels — the d orbitals — rather than to the outer energy levels. As a result, Zgff changes relatively little, so atomic size remains fairly constant. In later chemistry courses, you will learn a more complete explanation for the atomic radii of transition-element atoms. 

In this chapter, we have tried to emphasize general aspects of main-group chemical bonding, with particular emphasis on periodic trends. The periodic table remains the most important classification tool in chemistry, and it is crucial to understand even subtle secondary periodicities if one is to make efficient use of the various elements for different chemical applications. The radial nodal structure of the valence orbitals has been pointed out to account for more of the known trends than most practitioners of chemistry are aware of. For example, the inversion barriers of phosphines or silyl anions, the dependence of the inert-pair effect on the electronegativity of the substituents, the stability of carbene- or carbyne-type species or of multiple bonds between heavy main-group elements are aU intricately linked to hybridization defects of s- and p-valence orbitals of disparate sizes. Even the question of hypervalency is closely connected to the effects of primogenic repulsion . 

---