Elements before the brackets

[vsommer]

Do you include elements from groups 1 and 2 and their charge when you are figuring out the oxidation? These elements appear before the brackets. Thank you!

[Patrick Chin 1F]

Yes, if they come before the brackets, that means they are the cation balancing out the coordinate complex (anion).

[Alexandra Bowling 1K]

Can you post an example? I'm not exactly sure what you're talking about.

[Justin Le 2I]

An example would be K2[Ni(CN)4]

Here, the K is outside the bracket and serving as a cation, just like in KCl.

[GinaYoung1L]

It depends. Are you trying to write out the chemical formula? If so, you need to include the cation or anion outside of the brackets. Remember: cations go before the complex (inside the brackets) and anions go after the complex. At the end, the outside ion(s) and the complex need to balance out so the entire coordination compound is electrically neutral. In the coordination compound, you do not write out the charges of the complex or the outside ions.

Example unrelated to coordination compounds: NaCl, you do not write out the individual charges because the Na+ and the Cl- together form an electrically neutral compound.