In coordination chemistry, a ligand is an ion or molecule with a functional group that binds to a central metal atom to form a coordination complex. The bonding with the metal generally involves formal donation of one or more of the ligand's electron pairs, often through Lewis bases. The nature of metal–ligand bonding can range from covalent to ionic. Furthermore, the metal–ligand bond order can range from one to three. Ligands are viewed as Lewis bases, although rare cases are known to involve Lewis acidic "ligands".
An oxyanion, or oxoanion, is an ion with the generic formula A
xOz−
y. Oxyanions are formed by a large majority of the chemical elements. The formulae of simple oxyanions are determined by the octet rule. The corresponding oxyacid of an oxyanion is the compound H
zA
xO
y. The structures of condensed oxyanions can be rationalized in terms of AOn polyhedral units with sharing of corners or edges between polyhedra. The oxyanions adenosine monophosphate (AMP), adenosine diphosphate (ADP) and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) are important in biology.
In chemistry, a polyoxometalate is a polyatomic ion, usually an anion, that consists of three or more transition metal oxyanions linked together by shared oxygen atoms to form closed 3-dimensional frameworks. The metal atoms are usually group 6 or less commonly group 5 and group 7 transition metals in their high oxidation states. Polyoxometalates are often colorless, orange or red diamagnetic anions. Two broad families are recognized, isopolymetalates, composed of only one kind of metal and oxide, and heteropolymetalates, composed of one metal, oxide, and a main group oxyanion. Many exceptions to these general statements exist.
The cyanate ion is an anion with the chemical formula OCN−. It is a resonance of three forms: [O−−C≡N] (61%) ↔ [O=C=N−] (30%) ↔ [O+≡C−N2−] (4%).
Gadolinium(III) chloride, also known as gadolinium trichloride, is GdCl3. It is a colorless, hygroscopic, water-soluble solid. The hexahydrate GdCl3∙6H2O is commonly encountered and is sometimes also called gadolinium trichloride. Gd3+ species are of special interest because the ion has the maximum number of unpaired spins possible, at least for known elements. With seven valence electrons and seven available f-orbitals, all seven electrons are unpaired and symmetrically arranged around the metal. The high magnetism and high symmetry combine to make Gd3+ a useful component in NMR spectroscopy and MRI.
The uranyl ion is an oxycation of uranium in the oxidation state +6, with the chemical formula UO2+
2. It has a linear structure with short U–O bonds, indicative of the presence of multiple bonds between uranium and oxygen. Four or more ligands may be bound to the uranyl ion in an equatorial plane around the uranium atom. The uranyl ion forms many complexes, particularly with ligands that have oxygen donor atoms. Complexes of the uranyl ion are important in the extraction of uranium from its ores and in nuclear fuel reprocessing.
Uranium borohydride is the inorganic compound with the empirical formula U(BH4)4. Two polymeric forms are known, as well as a monomeric derivative that exists in the gas phase. Because the polymers convert to the gaseous form at mild temperatures, uranium borohydride once attracted much attention. It is solid green.
In coordination chemistry, a bridging ligand is a ligand that connects two or more atoms, usually metal ions. The ligand may be atomic or polyatomic. Virtually all complex organic compounds can serve as bridging ligands, so the term is usually restricted to small ligands such as pseudohalides or to ligands that are specifically designed to link two metals.
Iron shows the characteristic chemical properties of the transition metals, namely the ability to form variable oxidation states differing by steps of one and a very large coordination and organometallic chemistry: indeed, it was the discovery of an iron compound, ferrocene, that revolutionalized the latter field in the 1950s. Iron is sometimes considered as a prototype for the entire block of transition metals, due to its abundance and the immense role it has played in the technological progress of humanity. Its 26 electrons are arranged in the configuration [Ar]3d64s2, of which the 3d and 4s electrons are relatively close in energy, and thus it can lose a variable number of electrons and there is no clear point where further ionization becomes unprofitable.
In chemistry, crystallography, and materials science, the coordination number, also called ligancy, of a central atom in a molecule or crystal is the number of atoms, molecules or ions bonded to it. The ion/molecule/atom surrounding the central ion/molecule/atom is called a ligand. This number is determined somewhat differently for molecules than for crystals.
The Keggin structure is the best known structural form for heteropoly acids. It is the structural form of α-Keggin anions, which have a general formula of [XM12O40]n−, where X is the heteroatom, M is the addendum atom, and O represents oxygen. The structure self-assembles in acidic aqueous solution and is a commonly used type of polyoxometalate catalysts.
In coordination chemistry, denticity refers to the number of donor groups in a given ligand that bind to the central metal atom in a coordination complex. In many cases, only one atom in the ligand binds to the metal, so the denticity equals one, and the ligand is said to be monodentate. Ligands with more than one bonded atom are called polydentate or multidentate. The denticity of a ligand is described with the Greek letter κ ('kappa'). For example, κ6-EDTA describes an EDTA ligand that coordinates through 6 non-contiguous atoms.
In chemistry, metal aquo complexes are coordination compounds containing metal ions with only water as a ligand. These complexes are the predominant species in aqueous solutions of many metal salts, such as metal nitrates, sulfates, and perchlorates. They have the general stoichiometry [M(H2O)n]z+. Their behavior underpins many aspects of environmental, biological, and industrial chemistry. This article focuses on complexes where water is the only ligand, but of course many complexes are known to consist of a mix of aquo and other ligands.
Transition metal amino acid complexes are a large family of coordination complexes containing the conjugate bases of the amino acids, the 2-aminocarboxylates. Amino acids are prevalent in nature, and all of them function as ligands toward the transition metals. Not included in this article are complexes of the amides and ester derivatives of amino acids. Also excluded are the polyamino acids including the chelating agents EDTA and NTA.
Transition metal pyridine complexes encompass many coordination complexes that contain pyridine as a ligand. Most examples are mixed-ligand complexes. Many variants of pyridine are also known to coordinate to metal ions, such as the methylpyridines, quinolines, and more complex rings.
Transition metal carboxylate complexes are coordination complexes with carboxylate (RCO2−) ligands. Reflecting the diversity of carboxylic acids, the inventory of metal carboxylates is large. Many are useful commercially, and many have attracted intense scholarly scrutiny. Carboxylates exhibit a variety of coordination modes, most common are κ1- (O-monodentate), κ2 (O,O-bidentate), and bridging.
Transition metal oxalate complexes are coordination complexes with oxalate (C2O42−) ligands. Some are useful commercially, but the topic has attracted regular scholarly scrutiny. Oxalate (C2O42-) is a kind of dicarboxylate ligand. As a small, symmetrical dinegative ion, oxalate commonly forms five-membered MO2C2 chelate rings. Mixed ligand complexes are known, e.g., [Co(C2O4)(NH3)4]κ+.
A transition metal nitrate complex is a coordination compound containing one or more nitrate ligands. Such complexes are common starting reagents for the preparation of other compounds.
Transition metal carbonate and bicarbonate complexes are coordination compounds containing carbonate (CO32-) and bicarbonate (HCO3-) as ligands. The inventory of complexes is large, enhanced by the fact that the carbonate ligand can bind metal ions in a variety of bonding modes.
Transition metal sulfate complexes or sulfato complexes are coordination complexes with one or more sulfate ligands. Sulfate binds to metals through one, two, three, or all four oxygen atoms. Common are complexes where sulfate is unidentate or chelating bidentate. Examples are respectively [Co(tren)(NH3)(SO4)]+ (tren = tris(2-aminoethyl)amine) and Co(phen)2SO4. All four oxygen atoms of sulfate bond to metals in some Dawson-type polyoxometalates, e.g. [S2Mo18O62]4-.
![Structure of
[(C6H6)Ru(P3O9)]. Color code: red = O, violet = P, blue = Ru, gray = C. CSD CIF JIYFAZ.png](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/30/CSD_CIF_JIYFAZ.png/220px-CSD_CIF_JIYFAZ.png)