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Coordination Chemistry

Arrange ligands around a metal center and connect geometry to color and reactivity.

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Ligands donate to a metal. Donor atoms approach a central metal and compete with repulsion, sterics, and solvent effects.

metal–ligand geometrysquare planar / tetrahedral · Δ 58%
Focus the idea
Ligands arrange around a metal centreA metal centre has 4 ligands in a square planar / tetrahedral model and ligand-field strength 58 percent.MLLLLΔₒ = E(dγ) − E(dε)lower d setupper d set
ligands4
geometrysquare planar
field58%
observablecolour / spin

The number and arrangement of ligands set a coordination geometry. The same metal can behave differently when the ligand field changes.

Coordination compounds can distort, exchange ligands, and adopt multiple spin states. The stage uses idealized positions to separate geometry from the richer chemistry of real complexes.

04 / PRACTICE

Make the chemistry yours.

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Answer from the model, then use the explanation to connect the particle picture to the chemical rule.

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What does coordination number count?