Special about transition metals in alloy phase formation

The d-electrons are special, though their bonding properties remain to be completely understood. It is recognized that d band broadening is the dominant term contributing to transition metal cohesion. It is also generally recognized that in compound formation between transition-metals and polyvalent metals, hybridization between d-bands and polyvalent atom p bands provides a significant contribution to the energy (for example there is such a term in Miedema's scheme). Less generally realized is that d-band hybridization leads to changes in d-electron counts at a transition metal site which are opposite in sign to the net charge transfer on or off the site. The renormalized atom picture of cohesion of the pure transition metals and consider the experimental evidence and the theoretical understanding of d charge transfer going the wrong way are reviewed. A picture of the electronegativity of transition metals based on this trend is developed. Charge transfer associated with equalizing the local chemical potentials in alloys is estimated. Friedel type model alloy calculations are reviewed. The implications of the experimental charge transfer information from Moessbauer isomer shifts to such model alloy calculations and to the strength of the Coulomb enery associated with charge transfer is considered