Ligand order in coordination sphere

[AtreyiMitra2L]

Hello,
I am very confused about the order of the ligands within the coordination sphere. When I asked Dr. Lavelle in class, he said that the order didn't matter. This idea is reaffirmed throughout chemistry community. However, within the textbook, it says that the chemical symbols of the ligands should be in alphabetical order. Is this based on the atom or the full name (like amino v. NH3). Thank you!

[Karen Ung 2H]

I believe that if you wanted to write the ligands in alphabetical order, you'd refer to the name (amino) rather than the molecule (NH3). In addition, it's helpful to note that prefixes are not taken into consideration when alphabetizing.

[Chem_Mod]

The above answer is correct. However, if Dr. Lavelle says that it doesn't matter, you won't need to worry about alphabetical order on an exam!

[Varsha Sivaganesh 1A]

I think in lecture, Dr. Lavelle said that you would put the ligand names in alphabetical order (ex: ammine) but when writing the formulas, I don't think there is a specific order that is needed (ex: NH3)