Why do transition metals form coloured compounds?

and why are they used as catalysts when theyve got a high melt point,
Answers:
The wavelength a substance absorb is related to the physical length of the orbitals. Small elements like oxygen and nitrogen are colorless beacuse the orbitals are so small that they just absorb wavelengths in the UV collection which we can't see anyways. Colors only emerge in substances beside these small elements if they can form conjugated orbitals, like we see in plant pigments. But the d orbitals on sizeable transition metals absorb longer wavelengths, such as those in the distinct spectrum.

Their catalytic properties also relate to the range of their binding, but I don't have a more in-depth answer on that aspect.
When transition metal ions are surrounded by ligands (ions or molecules) contained by compounds, the five d-orbitals (because of their shapes) are affected differently by the electric field produced by the ligands. This cause some of them to increase in energy and some to fall off. The electrons populate the lower energy orbitals in nouns to the higher ones. However, the energy contained by photons of certain frequencies of visible standard lamp is just right to promote an electron from a low-energy d-orbital to a high-energy one so the compound absorbs insubstantial of that frequency whilst allowing other frequencies to pass through. This is what makes the compound appear coloured.
The main reason transition metal compounds are used as catalysts is due to the unsettled oxidation states available. This allows catalytic processes to occur i.e. substrate binding, ligand loss, oxidation, reduction.


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