Question

How do you rank metallic character?

Answer 1

Usually by electronegativity, i.e. the ability to attract electron density towards oneself. For example:

• Metallic character tends to increase downwards, since the lower halogens are less electronegative than the ones closer to `"F"`.

That is reflected in that:

• `"F"` is a gas (`T_(bp) = -188.1^@ "C"`),
• `"Cl"` is a denser gas (`"3.2 g/L"` vs. `"1.696 g/L"`),
• `"Br"` is a liquid (`T_(mp) = -7^@ "C"`, `T_(bp) = 58.8^@ "C"`),
• `"I"` is a solid (`T_(mp) = 113.7^@ "C"`),
• and `"At"` is denser than `"I"` (formally a nonmetal, but denser than a solid!).

• Metallic character tends to increase leftwards, since electronegativity tends to decrease leftwards on the periodic table.

Hence, `"Li"` is more of a metal than `"N"`, which is obvious, because `"N"_2` is a gas in natural conditions, and `"Li"` is literally of the "alkali metal" class.

Overall, it therefore means that metallic character has a general trend towards the lower left of the periodic table (with some exceptions in the transition metals of course).