This is fun. Short short stories by Michael Swanwick tied to the periodic table of the elements (via Lois Fundis in rec.arts.sf.fandom).

I have to say, though, that he's wrong about vanadium. Well, maybe he's right about the element itself. In solution all the oxidation states are different colours, and by chosing your oxidant or reducing agent, you can run them up and down the spectrum. Or maybe it's just an example of the old meta-law that the more interesting an element, the less interesting its compounds are and vice versa.