OH2 vs H2O

[Ivy Nguyen 3I]

In question 9C.3 in the textbook, tetraamminediaquacobalt(III) bromide was written as [Co(NH3)4(OH2)2]Br3 and I was wondering why the aqua part was written as OH2 instead of H2O and if there was a difference?

[Tomas Burgess 3F]

Hi! I believe the textbook does this just to emphasize that the oxygen atoms in H20 are covalently bonding to the central cobalt ion. In the coordination compound, the central Co atom is bonded to 4 N atoms and the 2 O atoms.

[Nathaniel John 2E]

Hello, generally the molecular formula is written this way just to emphasize which atom is covalently bonded to the central metal atom. Otherwise, there is no difference.

Hope this helps!

[trevina_brown_2A]

I think it is written like that to emphasize that the oxygen atoms in H20 are covalently bonding to the central atom

[Rhea Desai 1A]

Sometimes we also write NH3 has H3N which is just to show that the N that is touching the other element is bonded rather than the H. The same is with this case, where the molecule is the same, but it's a good way of showing that the O is actually bonded to the cobalt.