Post-transition metal

In chemistry, post-transition metals are the metallic elements in the periodic table located between the transition metals (to their left) and the metalloids (to their right). Usually included in this category are gallium, indium and thallium; tin and lead; and bismuth. Which elements are counted as post-transition metals depends, in periodic table terms, on where the transition metals are taken to end and where the metalloids or non-metals are taken to start.

Physically, post-transition metals are soft (or brittle), have poor mechanical strength, and have melting points lower than those of the transition metals. Being close to the metal-nonmetal border, their crystalline structures tend to show covalent or directional bonding effects, having generally greater complexity or fewer nearest neighbours than other metallic elements.

Chemically, they are characterised—to varying degrees—by covalent bonding tendencies, acid-base amphoterism and the formation of anionic species such as aluminates, stannates, and bismuthates (in the case of aluminium, tin, and bismuth, respectively). They can also form Zintl phases (half-metallic compounds formed between highly electropositive metals and moderately electronegative metals or metalloids).

The expression 'post-transition metals' is used here as there is no IUPAC-approved collective name for these metals. Occasionally, some or all of them have instead been referred to as B-subgroup metals, other metals, or p-block metals; and by at least eleven other alternative labels. All these labels are surveyed later in this article.

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