Bridging ligand in the context of "Bidentate"

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👉 Bridging ligand in the context of Bidentate

In coordination chemistry, denticity (from Latin dentis 'tooth') refers to the number of donor groups in a given ligand that bind to the central metal atom in a coordination complex. In many cases, only one atom in the ligand binds to the metal, so the denticity equals one, and the ligand is said to be unidentate or monodentate. Ligands with more than one bonded atom are called multidentate or polydentate. The denticity of a ligand is described with the Greek letter κ ('kappa'). For example, κ-EDTA describes an EDTA ligand that coordinates through 6 non-contiguous atoms.

Denticity is different from hapticity because hapticity refers exclusively to ligands where the coordinating atoms are contiguous. In these cases the η ('eta') notation is used. Bridging ligands use the μ ('mu') notation.

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Bridging ligand in the context of Butterfly cluster compound

In the area of metal cluster chemistry, a butterfly cluster compound usually describes tetrametallic clusters containing five M-M bonds. A prototype of this motif is [Re4(CO)16]. Most butterfly clusters have additional bridging ligands. One example is the pentaphosphide [[Rh4(CO)5(PPh2)5]] where all Rh---Rh edges are bridged by PPh2. A carbide-containing butterfly cluster is [Fe4C(CO)12] where the carbide is bonded to all four Fe centers.

Bonding in such clusters is often discussed in the context of polyhedral skeletal electron pair theory. This theory predicts that tetrametallic clusters with 60 valence electrons will adopt tetrahedral geometry with six M-M bonds. Tetrahedral clusters is classified as nido clusters. By addition of 2e, the 60e cluster opens one edge, as manifested in the butterfly motif.

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