Hiya all, writing a "research paper" on metallurgy for school. Need some (a lot) of help understanding how transition metals bond, specifically from an electron configuration level.
I understand the basics of the electron sea model and SPDF sublevels (Somewhat of a hobbyist/grade 11 chem class)
My question: how do two different transition metals bond and how are these bonds reflected in the electron configuration?
Based on what I've been able to find online, my understanding is that the S-shells lose their electrons to the electron sea and the D-shells form covalent bonds. Is this correct?
^> So in practice, two chromium atoms ([Ar] 3d⁵ 4s¹) would bond by losing both 4s-shells to the electron sea and forming covalent bonds between the 5 d-shell electrons, filling and stabilizing the d-shells.
^>> Further, why I think/know this is wrong, one chromium atom ([Ar] 3d⁵ 4s¹) and one titanium atom ([Ar] 3d² 4s²) bonding like I said would cause the two atoms to form complete 3d-shells but contribute no electrons to the electron sea. I think my misunderstanding could be in how transition metals stabilize, but I'm not sure.
Likely an embarrassing question to ask if I'm as far off as I think, but there's no harm in asking. If my knowledge is fundamentally wrong and too much to explain in the comments section, links to any good resources to help me understand this would also be extremely appreciated.