Periodic table of common ion charges

Interactive periodic table of the charges atoms usually form as ions. ElementWorks is a free interactive periodic table: hover an element to preview it, click it for its full card, or pick another view from the Show menu.

Periodic table of common ion charges explained

Main-group elements form ions with a predictable charge based on their group: group 1 gives 1+, group 2 gives 2+, group 13 gives 3+, group 15 gives 3−, group 16 gives 2− and group 17 gives 1−. Noble gases do not form common ions. Transition metals often form several charges, so they are listed with their most common ion where there is one.

Data table

Show the full data table (all 118 elements)

Common ion of all 118 elements
No.	Symbol	Element	Common ion
1	H	Hydrogen	—
2	He	Helium	—
3	Li	Lithium	Li+
4	Be	Beryllium	Be2+
5	B	Boron	B3+
6	C	Carbon	—
7	N	Nitrogen	N3−
8	O	Oxygen	O2−
9	F	Fluorine	F−
10	Ne	Neon	—
11	Na	Sodium	Na+
12	Mg	Magnesium	Mg2+
13	Al	Aluminium	Al3+
14	Si	Silicon	—
15	P	Phosphorus	P3−
16	S	Sulfur	S2−
17	Cl	Chlorine	Cl−
18	Ar	Argon	—
19	K	Potassium	K+
20	Ca	Calcium	Ca2+
21	Sc	Scandium	Sc3+
22	Ti	Titanium	Ti4+
23	V	Vanadium	—
24	Cr	Chromium	Cr3+
25	Mn	Manganese	Mn2+
26	Fe	Iron	Fe3+
27	Co	Cobalt	Co2+
28	Ni	Nickel	Ni2+
29	Cu	Copper	Cu2+
30	Zn	Zinc	Zn2+
31	Ga	Gallium	Ga3+
32	Ge	Germanium	—
33	As	Arsenic	—
34	Se	Selenium	Se2−
35	Br	Bromine	Br−
36	Kr	Krypton	—
37	Rb	Rubidium	Rb+
38	Sr	Strontium	Sr2+
39	Y	Yttrium	Y3+
40	Zr	Zirconium	Zr4+
41	Nb	Niobium	—
42	Mo	Molybdenum	—
43	Tc	Technetium	—
44	Ru	Ruthenium	—
45	Rh	Rhodium	—
46	Pd	Palladium	—
47	Ag	Silver	Ag+
48	Cd	Cadmium	Cd2+
49	In	Indium	In3+
50	Sn	Tin	Sn2+
51	Sb	Antimony	—
52	Te	Tellurium	Te2−
53	I	Iodine	I−
54	Xe	Xenon	—
55	Cs	Cesium	Cs+
56	Ba	Barium	Ba2+
57	La	Lanthanum	La3+
58	Ce	Cerium	—
59	Pr	Praseodymium	—
60	Nd	Neodymium	—
61	Pm	Promethium	—
62	Sm	Samarium	—
63	Eu	Europium	—
64	Gd	Gadolinium	—
65	Tb	Terbium	—
66	Dy	Dysprosium	—
67	Ho	Holmium	—
68	Er	Erbium	—
69	Tm	Thulium	—
70	Yb	Ytterbium	—
71	Lu	Lutetium	—
72	Hf	Hafnium	—
73	Ta	Tantalum	—
74	W	Tungsten	—
75	Re	Rhenium	—
76	Os	Osmium	—
77	Ir	Iridium	—
78	Pt	Platinum	—
79	Au	Gold	Au+
80	Hg	Mercury	Hg2+
81	Tl	Thallium	Tl+
82	Pb	Lead	Pb2+
83	Bi	Bismuth	Bi3+
84	Po	Polonium	—
85	At	Astatine	—
86	Rn	Radon	—
87	Fr	Francium	—
88	Ra	Radium	—
89	Ac	Actinium	—
90	Th	Thorium	—
91	Pa	Protactinium	—
92	U	Uranium	—
93	Np	Neptunium	—
94	Pu	Plutonium	—
95	Am	Americium	—
96	Cm	Curium	—
97	Bk	Berkelium	—
98	Cf	Californium	—
99	Es	Einsteinium	—
100	Fm	Fermium	—
101	Md	Mendelevium	—
102	No	Nobelium	—
103	Lr	Lawrencium	—
104	Rf	Rutherfordium	—
105	Db	Dubnium	—
106	Sg	Seaborgium	—
107	Bh	Bohrium	—
108	Hs	Hassium	—
109	Mt	Meitnerium	—
110	Ds	Darmstadtium	—
111	Rg	Roentgenium	—
112	Cn	Copernicium	—
113	Nh	Nihonium	—
114	Fl	Flerovium	—
115	Mc	Moscovium	—
116	Lv	Livermorium	—
117	Ts	Tennessine	—
118	Og	Oganesson	—

Frequently asked questions

What charges do the groups of the periodic table form?

Group 1: 1+, group 2: 2+, group 13: 3+, group 15: 3−, group 16: 2−, group 17: 1−. Group 14 and the noble gases do not usually form simple ions.

Why do metals form positive ions and nonmetals negative ions?

Metals lose their few valence electrons to reach a stable configuration, and nonmetals gain electrons to complete their valence shell.

Why do transition metals have more than one charge?

Both their outer s electrons and some d electrons can be lost, so different charges are possible, such as Fe²⁺ and Fe³⁺.