COMPLEX IONS & COORDINATION COMPOUNDS
Coordination compounds usually involve transition metal ions, which are typically colored and often paramagnetic. A
neutral coordination compound normally consists of a complex ion—a transition metal ion with attached ligands—and
counter ions, anions or cations needed to produce a neutral compound. Example:
[Co(NH3)6]Cl3 [Co(NH3)6]3+ is the complex ion consisting of the transition metal ion Co3+ and six attached
NH3 ligands, and the Cl−’s are the counter ions.
Ligands are Lewis bases with lone pairs of electrons. These electrons can be donated to the empty d orbitals of a
transition metal ion, which in turn can act as a Lewis acid. This sharing of electrons in which one partner does all of the
donating is called a coordinate covalent bond. Some ligands such as carbonato (CO32−), or ethylenediamine (often
abbreviated “en”; NH2CH2CH2NH2) can provide more than one pair of electrons to a Lewis acid.
The number of ligands attached to a central metal ion is referred to as the coordination number. Two, four, and six are
the most common coordination numbers. Often the number of ligands attached is two times the metal’s oxidation number.
The colors of coordination compounds are quite varied. Many are quite colorful. Others, such as those with transition
metals with completely filled d sublevels tend to form white compounds and colorless solutions. Furthermore, compounds
containing metal ions that may normally be insoluble in water become very soluble when in the form of a coordination
compound.
Naming Complex Ions:
Complex cation are named by giving the number and name of the groups attached to the central metallic atom followed
by the name of the central atom, with its oxidation number indicated by a Roman numeral in parentheses.
[Cr(H2O)63+] hexaaquochromium(III)
Complex anions are named by giving the number and name of the groups attached to the central metallic atom followed
by the name of the central atom, with an –ate ending and its oxidation number in parentheses.
[PtCl6]2− hexachloroplatinate(IV)
IUPAC Rules for Naming Coordination Compounds:
1) The cation is always named before the anion, with a space between the names.
2) In naming a complex ion, the ligands are named before the metallic ion.
3) Ligands have special endings. For anions, such as F−, an –o ending is used in place of the –ide ending (fluoro). For
anions ending with –ate, such as CO32− (carbonate), the –o ending replaces the –e (carbonato). For neutral ligands,
the name of the molecule is used, with the exception of H2O, NH3, CO and NO.
4) Ligands are named first, in alphabetical order, followed by the metal name. The Greek prefixes (di=2, tri=3, tetra=4,
etc.) are used to denote the number of simple ligands present—mono is omitted. For more complicated ligands the
prefixes bis (twice), tris (thrice), tetrakis (four times), pentakis (five times) and hexakis (six times) are used. Prefixes
do NOT affect the alphabetical order.
5) Many metals exhibit variable oxidation numbers. The oxidation number of the metal is designated by a Roman
numeral in parentheses following the name of the complex ion or molecule. The Roman numeral is omitted if a
metallic cation does not exhibit variable oxidation numbers. For example, silver is always 1+ in compounds or
complex ions, so no Roman numeral is used.
6) For anionic complex ions (those having negative charges), the suffix –ate is added to the name of the metal. The
English name for the metal is used, except in the cases which use the Latin name of the metal (see table next page).
The suffix –ate indicates the complex ion is an anion. Neutral and cationic complexes do not use suffixes.
Latin Names for Some Metals Ions Found in Anionic Complex Ions
copper cuprate
gold aurate
iron ferrate
lead plumbate
silver argentate
tin stannate
NOTES:
Formulas of complex ions are enclosed in parentheses.
The names of complicated ligands are enclosed in parentheses. This includes:
o ethylenediamine (often abbreviated “en”)
o oxalato (often abbreviated “ox”)
o methylamine
o dimethylamine
o carbonato
o sulfato
o thiosulfato
o nitrato
The overall charge of a coordination compound is zero. Using the charges of the ligands and counter ions, you
can determine the oxidation number of the metal ion and/or the complex ion.
EXAMPLES of COMPLEX IONS NAMES:
[Cr(H2O)4Cl2]+ tetraaquodichlorochromium(III)
[Cr(H2O)2Cl4]− diaquotetrachlorochromate(III)
[Cr(NH3)4(H2O)]3+ pentaammineaquochromium(III)
[GaCl3(OH)]− trichlorohydroxogallate(III)
[Mn(C6H6)(CO)3]+ benzenetricarbonylmanganese(I)
[Ni(CO)4] tetracarbonylnickel(0)
EXAMPLES of COORDINATION COMPOUND NAMES:
[Zn(NH3)4]Cl2 tetraamminezinc chloride (since Zn is always 2+, no Roman numeral is needed)
K2[CoCl4] potassium tetrachlorocobaltate(II)
Na[Al(OH)4] sodium tetrahydoxoaluminate (since Al is always 3+, no Roman numeral is needed)
[Pt(NH3)4][PtCl6] tetraammineplatinum(II) hexachloroplatinate(IV)
K4[Ni(CN)2(C2O4)2] potassium dicyanobis(oxalato)nickelate(II)
