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Inorganic & Coordination Chemistry

IUPAC Nomenclature of Complexes

The systematic rules for naming coordination compounds unambiguously.

Unit Dimensionless

In depth

Ligands are named first in alphabetical order with numerical prefixes, then the metal, with its oxidation state in Roman numerals in brackets. Anionic ligands take an -o ending, and if the whole complex is an anion the metal name takes the suffix -ate, often using its Latin stem.

Examples in the real world

[Co(NH₃)₄Cl₂]Cl is tetraamminedichloridocobalt(III) chloride; K₄[Fe(CN)₆] is potassium hexacyanidoferrate(II).