Group 1- Alkali Metals

The elements of group 1 are commonly known as alkali metals after the alkaline properties of their hydroxides such as NaOH. The atoms have the (ns)1 electron design and the M+ ions are therefore simply build. Alkali metals are the biggest electropositive of all elements, and their substance among the most ionic. Roughly constant electropositive character is obtained down the group by parallel fall in ionization, atomization, and lattice or hydration energies. In some aspects, lithium differs slightly from the rest of the series. The thermal stabilities and the solubilities of its compounds follow patterns that are same to those of group 2 elements than to those of the rest of group 1. This diagonal relationship may be understood from the small size of the Li+ cation, which goes to trends in solvation energies and lattice energies more like those of the bigger charged ions in group 2.