The overall trend can be explained by the two forces at play: inter-electronic repulsions and nuclear attractions, which support an increase in atomic radii and a decrease in atomic radii, respectively.
Since there are fewer electrons in the inner shell and the shielding power of the d orbital is low, inter-electronic repulsions will be working less than nuclear charge, which causes a decrease in atomic radii. This is the first factor that causes nuclear charge to increase as we move from Sc to Zn.
These two factors are essentially operating at equal levels in the middle, which leads to size consistency.
Ultimately, the outer electrons experience stronger repulsions and are marginally pushed away as the inner orbital’s electron count rises. Even though the d orbital has less shielding power, there are too many electrons for electronic repulsion to become the dominant factor in the end, which causes the atomic radii to increase.
The overall trend can be explained by the two forces at play: inter-electronic repulsions and nuclear attractions, which support an increase in atomic radii and a decrease in atomic radii, respectively.
Since there are fewer electrons in the inner shell and the shielding power of the d orbital is low, inter-electronic repulsions will be working less than nuclear charge, which causes a decrease in atomic radii. This is the first factor that causes nuclear charge to increase as we move from Sc to Zn.
These two factors are essentially operating at equal levels in the middle, which leads to size consistency.
Ultimately, the outer electrons experience stronger repulsions and are marginally pushed away as the inner orbital’s electron count rises. Even though the d orbital has less shielding power, there are too many electrons for electronic repulsion to become the dominant factor in the end, which causes the atomic radii to increase.