Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 4, 2026

Line Shape Analysis of Dynamic NMR Spectra for Characterizing Coordination Sphere Rearrangements at a Chiral Rhenium Polyhydride Complex
Published on: July 27, 2022
Plasticity of the nickel(II) coordination environment in complexes with hemilabile phosphino thioether ligands
Charles W Machan1, Alexander M Spokoyny, Matthew R Jones
1Department of Chemistry and the International Institute for Nanotechnology, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Road, Evanston, Illinois 60208, USA.
Abstract:
A series of homoligated Ni(II) complexes formed from two phosphino thioether (P,S) chelating ligands has been synthesized and characterized. Interestingly, this included octahedral Ni(II) complexes which, unlike previously characterized d(8) Rh(I), Pt(II), and Pd(II) analogues, exhibit in situ exchange processes centered around chloride ligand dissociation. This was verified and studied through the controlled abstraction from and introduction of chloride ions to this system, which showed that these processes proceed through complexes with square pyramidal, tetrahedral, and square planar geometries. These complexes were studied with a variety of characterization methods, including single-crystal X-ray diffraction studies, solution (31)P{(1)H} NMR spectroscopy, UV-vis spectroscopy, and DFT calculations. A general set of synthetic procedures that involve the use of coordinating and noncoordinating counteranions, as well as different hemilabile ligands, to mediate geometry transformations are presented.
Related Concept Videos
Valence Bond Theory
Metal-Ligand Bonds
In these complexes, transition metals form coordinate covalent bonds, a kind of Lewis acid-base interaction in which both of the electrons in the bond are contributed by a donor (Lewis base) to an electron acceptor (Lewis acid). The Lewis acid in...
Complexation Equilibria: The Chelate Effect
EDTA: Chemistry and Properties
Coordination Number and Geometry
Structural Isomerism
Isomers are different chemical species that have the same chemical formula. Structural isomerism of coordination compounds can be divided into two subcategories, the linkage isomers and coordination-sphere isomers.
Linkage isomers occur when the coordination compound contains a ligand that can bind to the transition metal center through two different atoms. For example, the CN− ligand can bind through the carbon atom or through the nitrogen atom. Similarly, SCN− can be...

