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Types of Ligands

Ligands are classified based on their bonding nature with the central atom into anionic, cationic, and neutral ligands, and further categorized as unidentate, bidentate, polydentate, chelate, and ambidentate ligands. Coordination compounds exhibit isomerism, which can be structural or stereoisomerism, with stereoisomerism further divided into optical and geometrical isomerism. Optical isomers are non-superimposable mirror images known as enantiomers.

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Types of Ligands

Ligands are classified based on their bonding nature with the central atom into anionic, cationic, and neutral ligands, and further categorized as unidentate, bidentate, polydentate, chelate, and ambidentate ligands. Coordination compounds exhibit isomerism, which can be structural or stereoisomerism, with stereoisomerism further divided into optical and geometrical isomerism. Optical isomers are non-superimposable mirror images known as enantiomers.

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Types of Ligands

Based on the nature of the bond between the ligand and the central atom,
ligands are classified as follows:

 Anionic ligands: CN–, Br–, Cl–


 Cationic ligands: NO+
 Neutral ligands: CO, H2O, NH3

Ligands can be further classified as:

Unidentate Ligands
The ligands which only have one atom that can bind to the coordination
centre are called unidentate ligands. Ammonia (NH3) is a great example
of a unidentate ligand. Some common unidentate are Cl –, H2O etc.

Bidentate Ligands
Ligands which have the ability to bind to the central atom via two
separate donor atoms, such as ethane-1,2-diamine, are referred to as
bidentate ligands.

Oxalate ion is a bidentate, as it can bond through two atoms to the central
atom in a coordination compound and Ethane-1, 2-diamine:

Polydentate Ligands
Some ligands have many donor atoms that can bind to the coordination
centre. These ligands are often referred to as polydentate ligands.
A great example of a polydentate ligand is the EDTA4- ion (ethylene
diamine tetraacetate ion), which can bind to the coordination centre via
its four oxygen atoms and two nitrogen atoms.

Chelate Ligand
When a polydentate ligand attaches itself to the same central metal atom
through two or more donor atoms, it is known as a chelate ligand. The
atoms that ligate to the metal ion are termed as the denticity of such
ligands.

Ambidentate Ligand
Some ligands have the ability to bind to the central atom via the atoms of
two different elements.

For example, the SCN– ion can bind to a ligand via the nitrogen atom or
via the sulfur atom. Such ligands are known as ambidentate ligands.

Isomerism in Coordination Compounds


Two or more compounds that have the same chemical formula but a
different arrangement of atoms are known as isomers. Due to this
difference in the arrangement of atoms, coordination compounds pre-
dominantly exhibit two types of isomerism, namely, stereo-isomerism
and structural isomerism.

Stereoisomerism
Coordination compounds which have the same chemical and chemical
bonds but have different spatial arrangements are known as
stereoisomers. These are further divided into optical isomerism and
geometrical isomerism.

Optical Isomerism in Coordination Compounds


The isomer which forms a non-superimposable mirror image is known as
optical isomers or enantiomers, and they are of two types:

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