Coordination Compound Naming

[KMcFarland_2L]

If the second ligand has more than one atom, do you also put a greek prefix before that ligand? For example, [Co(NH3)5Cl2], would the ligands be written, penta ammine di chloro?

[Samantha Pedersen 2K]

Yes, you should put a Greek prefix before each ligand of which there is more than one. I believe you're correct that the ligands would be written as pentaamminedichloro in this case!

[Nicolette Simoni 3L]

Hi!

You are right, you must place a prefix of the number of ligands present before each ligand. Keep in mind, if your ligand already has a prefix (ex. diethylenetriamine) and there are more than one, there is a different set of prefixes to use to avoid redundancy. So, you must use Bis- for 2 ligands, Tris- for 3, Tetrakis for 4, and Pentakis for 5.

Hope this helps!

[Samuel Flores 1E]

Hello! Yes, you did the problem correctly! For every ligand that is in the quantity of two or more (within the coordination sphere of a given coordination compound), we will always put the Greek prefix (e.g. di, tri, tetra, etc) before the ligand when naming the coordination compound. So therefore, you will put "di-" in front of chloro and "penta-" in front of ammine.

Hope this helps!