Comparethe stability of +2 oxidation state for the elements of the firsttransition series.
Sc | +3 | ||||||
Ti | +1 | +2 | +3 | +4 | |||
V | +1 | +2 | +3 | +4 | +5 | ||
Cr | +1 | +2 | +3 | +4 | +5 | +6 | |
Mn | +1 | +2 | +3 | +4 | +5 | +6 | +7 |
Fe | +1 | +2 | +3 | +4 | +5 | +6 | |
Co | +1 | +2 | +3 | +4 | +5 | ||
Ni | +1 | +2 | +3 | +4 | |||
Cu | +1 | +2 | +3 | ||||
Zn | +2 |
Fromthe above table, it is evident that themaximum number of oxidation states is shown by Mn, varying from +2 to+7. The number of oxidation states increases on moving from Sc to Mn.On moving from Mn to Zn, the number of oxidation states decreases dueto a decrease in the number of available unpaired electrons. Therelative stability of the +2 oxidation state increases on moving fromtop to bottom. This is because on moving from top to bottom, itbecomes more and more difficult to remove the third electron from thed-orbital.