Nickel compounds are chemical compounds containing the element nickel which is a member of the group 10 of the periodic table. Most compounds in the group have an oxidation state of +2. Nickel is classified as a transition metal with nickel(II) having much chemical behaviour in common with iron(II) and cobalt(II). Many salts of nickel(II) are isomorphous with salts of magnesium due to the ionic radii of the cations being almost the same. Nickel forms many coordination complexes. Nickel tetracarbonyl was the first pure metal carbonyl produced, and is unusual in its volatility. Metalloproteins containing nickel are found in biological systems.
Nickel forms simple binary compounds with non metals including halogens, chalcogenides, and pnictides. Nickel ions can act as a cation in salts with many acids, including common oxoacids. Salts of the hexaaqua ion (Ni · 6 H2O2+) are especially well known. Many double salts containing nickel with another cation are known. There are organic acid salts. Nickel can be part of a negatively charged ion (anion) making what is called a nickellate. Numerous quaternary compounds (with four elements) of nickel have been studied for superconductivity properties, as nickel is adjacent to copper and iron in the periodic table can form compounds with the same structure as the high-temperature superconductors that are known.