(i) Coordination entity:
A coordination entity is an electrically charged radical or species carrying a positive or negative charge. In a coordination entity, the central atom or ion is surrounded by a suitable number of neutral molecules or negative ions ( called ligands). For example:
(ii) Ligands
The neutral molecules or negatively charged ions that surround the metal atom in a coordination entity or a coordinal complex are known as ligands. For example,
, Cl−, −OH. Ligands are usually polar in nature and possess at least one unshared pair of valence electrons.
(iii) Coordination number:
The total number of ligands (either neutral molecules or negative ions) that get attached
to the central metal atom in the coordination sphere is called the coordination number of
the central metal atom. It is also referred to as its ligancy.
For example:
(a) In the complex, K2[PtCl6], there as six chloride ions attached to Pt in the coordinate
sphere. Therefore, the coordination number of Pt is 6.
(b) Similarly, in the complex [Ni(NH3)4]Cl2, the coordination number of the central
atom (Ni) is 4.
(vi) Coordination polyhedron:
Coordination polyhedrons about the central atom can be defined as the spatial
arrangement of the ligands that are directly attached to the central metal ion in the
coordination sphere. For example:
Heteroleptic complexes are those complexes where the central metal ion is bound to more than one type of a donor group.
