Comparative taxonomy

[RenePC]

There's an analogy to be drawn between the transition metals and the macrogen nonmetals which I hadn't previously appreciated.

It transpires that both types of elements are involved in macromolecular chemistry—the transition metals via the formation of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), and the macrogens (H, C, N, O, P, S, Se) through the propagation of organic macromolecules or biopolymers.

The analogy occurred to me after I read that the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry had been awarded for the development of metal-organic frameworks.

The metals involved overwhelmingly belong to the transition series.

So, in comparative taxonomy terms, a d metal ↔ macrogen match-up can be regarded as the generative heart of macromolecular chemistry.

This, in turn, lends further support to the following pairings:

sf metals halogens

p metals metalloids

noble metals noble gases

Here:

• sf metals ↔ halogens express the ionic foundation of life and minerals;
• p metals ↔ metalloids mark the threshold zone of mixed character and niche functions; and
• noble metals ↔ noble gases embody the inert limit—stable, rarefied, and technologically valuable.

René