Clarification on ligands

[Gabby Magat 3F]

Are ligands just any atom or molecule that bonds to the transition metal? In lecture, Dr. Lavelle gave the example of nickel bonding with Cl and NH3, and I just wanted to make sure I got the vocabulary right. Thank you!

[Emmeline Phu 1G]

Hi! In the lecture, it was mentioned that ligand is an electron rich species meaning a molecule that is able to provide a pair of electrons to a cation in order to form a bond. A ligand is essentially a Lewis base or an electron pair donor, so the transition metal cation which accepts the pair of electrons from the ligand is the Lewis base acid. Hope this helps! :)

[Massimo_Capozza_1G]

Just like there are cations and anions, is there an opposite to ligands?

[Gabby Magat 3F]

Hi! In the lecture, it was mentioned that ligand is an electron rich species meaning a molecule that is able to provide a pair of electrons to a cation in order to form a bond. A ligand is essentially a Lewis base or an electron pair donor, so the transition metal cation which accepts the pair of electrons from the ligand is the Lewis base acid. Hope this helps! :)

Yes this is very helpful, thanks so much!

[gabbi_r2C]

I agree with the above. A ligand is basically just a Lewis base (electron donor), but specifically for transition metals.

[Siwa Hwang 3G]

Is there a difference between ligands and Lewis base?

[Jaden Ward 3J]

Is there a difference between ligands and Lewis base?

First off, hi Siwa! Secondly, no, I think ligands *are* Lewis bases if I'm not mistaken.