Coordination Chemistry: Ligands & Naming Vocabulary

Vocabulary flashcards covering monodentate, ambidentate, bidentate, polydentate ligands and IUPAC naming rules from the coordination chemistry lecture notes.

aqua

Water ligand; neutral monodentate. Formula H₂O.

ammine

Ammonia ligand; neutral monodentate. Formula NH₃.

carbonyl

Carbon monoxide ligand; neutral monodentate. Formula CO.

nitrosyl

Nitric oxide ligand; neutral monodentate. Formula NO.

fluoro

Fluoride ligand; anionic monodentate. Formula F⁻.

chloro

Chloride ligand; anionic monodentate. Formula Cl⁻.

bromo

Bromide ligand; anionic monodentate. Formula Br⁻.

iodo

Iodide ligand; anionic monodentate. Formula I⁻.

hydroxo

Hydroxide ligand; anionic monodentate. Formula OH⁻.

cyano

Cyanide ligand; anionic monodentate or ambidentate (C donor). Formula CN⁻.

thiocyanato-S

Thiocyanate ligand bound through sulfur; anionic ambidentate. Formula SCN⁻.

thiocyanato-N

Thiocyanate ligand bound through nitrogen; anionic ambidentate. Formula SCN⁻.

nitrito-N

Nitrite ligand bound through nitrogen; anionic ambidentate. Formula NO₂⁻.

nitrito-O

Nitrite ligand bound through oxygen; anionic ambidentate. Formula NO₂⁻.

oxo

Oxide ligand; anionic monodentate. Formula O²⁻.

sulfido

Sulfide ligand; anionic monodentate. Formula S²⁻.

azido

Azide ligand; anionic monodentate. Formula N₃⁻.

acetato

Acetate ligand; anionic monodentate. Formula CH₃COO⁻.

carbonato (monodentate)

Carbonate acting as monodentate ligand; anionic. Formula CO₃²⁻.

hydrido

Hydride ligand; anionic monodentate. Formula H⁻.

peroxo

Peroxide ligand; anionic monodentate. Formula O₂²⁻.

ambidentate ligand

Ligand capable of coordinating through two different atoms (e.g., SCN⁻, NO₂⁻, CN⁻).

thiosulfato

Thiosulfate ligand; ambidentate anion S₂O₃²⁻.

oxalato

Oxalate ligand; anionic bidentate chelate (C₂O₄²⁻).

ethylenediamine (en)

Neutral bidentate ligand with two N donors; H₂NCH₂CH₂NH₂.

bipyridine (bpy)

2,2′-Bipyridine; neutral bidentate ligand with two N donors.

phenanthroline (phen)

1,10-Phenanthroline; neutral bidentate ligand with two N donors.

glycinato

Glycinate ligand; anionic bidentate (N and O donors). Formula H₂NCH₂COO⁻.

carbonato (bidentate)

Carbonate acting as bidentate ligand via two oxygen atoms; CO₃²⁻.

EDTA⁴⁻

Ethylenediaminetetraacetate; hexadentate ligand (6 donor atoms).

diethylenetriamine (dien)

Tridentate ligand with three N donors.

triethylenetetramine (trien)

Tetradentate ligand with four N donors.

cyclam

Tetraazacyclotetradecane; macrocyclic tetradentate ligand.

Ligand naming order

Ligands are listed alphabetically in complex names, ignoring multiplicative prefixes.

Anionic ligand suffix

Anionic ligands in complex names end with “-o” (e.g., chloride → chloro).

Neutral ligand retention

Neutral ligands generally keep their molecular name but may have special forms (e.g., water → aqua).

Simple ligand prefixes

Use di-, tri-, tetra-, etc. for multiple simple ligands of the same type.

Complex ligand prefixes

Use bis-, tris-, tetrakis-, etc. when ligands already contain prefixes or are complicated.