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Inorganic & Coordination Chemistry

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Inorganic & Coordination Chemistry

Alloy

A metallic material made by combining a metal with one or more other elements.

Dimensionless
Inorganic & Coordination Chemistry

Ambidentate Ligand

A monodentate ligand possessing two different potential donor atoms, either of which may bind.

Dimensionless
Inorganic & Coordination Chemistry

Bidentate Ligand

A ligand that binds to the same metal centre through two donor atoms, forming a ring.

Dimensionless
Inorganic & Coordination Chemistry

Central Metal Atom

The metal atom or ion at the heart of a coordination entity, which accepts electron pairs from the ligands.

Dimensionless
Inorganic & Coordination Chemistry

Charge Transfer Spectrum

An intense absorption produced when an electron moves between metal and ligand orbitals.

nm
Inorganic & Coordination Chemistry

Chelate

A cyclic complex formed when a multidentate ligand grips a metal ion through two or more donor atoms.

Dimensionless
Inorganic & Coordination Chemistry

Chelate Effect

The greater stability of a complex containing a multidentate ligand compared with one containing equivalent monodentate ligands.

ΔS favourable kJ/mol
Inorganic & Coordination Chemistry

Complex Ion

A charged species consisting of a central metal ion surrounded by a definite number of ligands.

[ML₆]ⁿ⁺ Dimensionless
Inorganic & Coordination Chemistry

Coordination Compound

A compound containing a central metal atom or ion bonded to surrounding molecules or ions by coordinate bonds.

[M(L)ₙ]Xₘ Dimensionless
Inorganic & Coordination Chemistry

Coordination Isomerism

Isomerism in compounds containing both a complex cation and a complex anion, where ligands are distributed differently between them.

Dimensionless
Inorganic & Coordination Chemistry

Coordination Sphere

The central metal together with the ligands directly attached to it, written inside square brackets.

[M(L)ₙ] Dimensionless
Inorganic & Coordination Chemistry

Counter Ion

An ion outside the coordination sphere that balances the charge of the complex ion.

Dimensionless
Inorganic & Coordination Chemistry

Crystal Field Splitting Energy

The energy difference between the sets of d orbitals produced when a ligand field lifts their degeneracy.

Δ₀ or Δ_t cm⁻¹
Inorganic & Coordination Chemistry

Crystal Field Stabilisation Energy

The net energy gained by a complex through the preferential occupation of lower-energy d orbitals.

CFSE = (−0.4n_t2g + 0.6n_eg)Δ₀ kJ/mol
Inorganic & Coordination Chemistry

Crystal Field Theory

The model treating metal–ligand bonding as purely electrostatic and analysing how ligand fields split the metal d orbitals.

kJ/mol
Inorganic & Coordination Chemistry

Denticity

The number of donor atoms a single ligand uses to bind to one metal centre.

κⁿ or ηⁿ notation Dimensionless
Inorganic & Coordination Chemistry

d–d Transition

The promotion of an electron between split d orbitals, responsible for the characteristic colours of transition metal complexes.

ΔE = hν = Δ nm
Inorganic & Coordination Chemistry

Effective Atomic Number Rule

The observation that stable metal carbonyls tend to have a total electron count equal to that of the next noble gas.

EAN = Z − oxidation state + 2n(ligands) Dimensionless
Inorganic & Coordination Chemistry

Ellingham Diagram

A plot of the standard free energy of formation of metal oxides against temperature, used to choose a reduction route.

ΔG° = ΔH° − TΔS° kJ/mol
Inorganic & Coordination Chemistry

Flux

A substance added during smelting to combine with the gangue and form a fusible slag.

Dimensionless
Inorganic & Coordination Chemistry

Froth Flotation

A concentration method that separates minerals by exploiting differences in how readily their surfaces are wetted.

Dimensionless
Inorganic & Coordination Chemistry

Gangue

The commercially worthless rock and mineral matter surrounding a valuable ore mineral.

Dimensionless
Inorganic & Coordination Chemistry

Geometrical Isomerism in Complexes

Stereoisomerism arising from different spatial arrangements of ligands around the metal centre.

cis / trans, fac / mer Dimensionless
Inorganic & Coordination Chemistry

High Spin Complex

A complex in which electrons occupy the higher d orbitals singly before pairing, maximising unpaired spins.

Δ < P BM