edta

[Qiu Ya Wu 4I]

Would the edta ligand form an octahedral complex when it bonds with a metal ion since it is hexadentate and has the coordination number 6? If so, would the entire ligand have to wrap around the metal ion? Additionally, why are the points of attachment for the edta ligand only on the N atoms and the OH molecules and not on the double-bonded oxygen atoms?

[Sahil Jog 1F]

The EDTA ligand would form an octahedral complex once it's bonded to the metal ion and it would wrap around it. The molecule itself does not look like it can wrap around the central transition metal ion, but because of VSPER theory, its shape is very complicated due to numerous trigonal planar and tetrahedral shapes involved in EDTA. However, EDTA does wrap around the central transition metal. I'm also assuming that because of its shape, the double bonded oxygens would be facing away from the central atom and thus cannot have points of attachment.