Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Structural Isomerism

Structural Isomerism

Isomerism in Complexes
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...

Predicting Molecular Geometry

Predicting Molecular Geometry

VSEPR Theory for Determination of Electron Pair Geometries

Valence Bond Theory

Valence Bond Theory

Coordination compounds and complexes exhibit different colors, geometries, and magnetic behavior, depending on the metal atom/ion and ligands from which they are composed. In an attempt to explain the bonding and structure of coordination complexes, Linus Pauling proposed the valence bond theory, or VBT, using the concepts of hybridization and the overlapping of the atomic orbitals. According to VBT, the central metal atom or ion (Lewis acid) hybridizes to provide empty orbitals of suitable...

Ladder Diagrams: Complexation Equilibria

Ladder Diagrams: Complexation Equilibria

Ladder diagrams are useful for evaluating equilibria involving metal-ligand complexes. The vertical scale of the ladder diagram represents the concentration of unreacted or free ligand, pL. The horizontal lines on the scale depict the log of stepwise formation constants for metal-ligand complexes and indicate the dominant species in all the regions.
The formation constant, K1, for the formation of Cd(NH3)2+ complex from cadmium and ammonia is 3.55 × 102. Log K1 (i.e. pNH3) is 2.55, and...

Ionic Crystal Structures

Ionic Crystal Structures

Ionic crystals consist of two or more different kinds of ions that usually have different sizes. The packing of these ions into a crystal structure is more complex than the packing of metal atoms that are the same size.
Most monatomic ions behave as charged spheres, and their attraction for ions of opposite charge is the same in every direction. Consequently, stable structures for ionic compounds result (1) when ions of one charge are surrounded by as many ions as possible of the opposite...

Stereoisomerism

Stereoisomerism

Isomerism in Complexes
Isomers are different chemical species that have the same chemical formula.
Transition metal complexes often exist as geometric isomers, in which the same atoms are connected through the same types of bonds but with differences in their orientation in space. Coordination complexes with two different ligands in the cis and trans positions from a ligand of interest form isomers. For example, the octahedral [Co(NH3)4Cl2]+ ion has two isomers (Figure 1) In the cis...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Record Carrier Diffusion Lengths in Large, Dense Nonfullerene Electron Acceptor Crystals Grown from Polar Aromatic Solvents.

Journal of the American Chemical Society·2026

Same author

Synthesis, Photophysical and TD-DFT Evaluation of Triphenylphosphonium-Labeled Ru(II) and Ir(III) Luminophores.

Inorganic chemistry·2026

Same author

Energy Upconversion Using Platinum(II)-BPI Photosensitizers.

Inorganic chemistry·2025

Same author

Combined colourimetric and turn-on luminescence from a redox-switchable 2-aza-anthraquinone bridged dimetallic assembly.

Dalton transactions (Cambridge, England : 2003)·2025

Same author

DNA-Binding Properties of Non-Intercalating Water-Soluble Organometallic Ir(III) Luminophores.

Chemistry (Weinheim an der Bergstrasse, Germany)·2025

Same author

Radical-cation salts of BEDT-TTF with tris-coordinated racemic dysprosium(III) and terbium(III) anions.

Dalton transactions (Cambridge, England : 2003)·2025

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 4, 2026

Preparation and Reactivity of a Triphosphenium Bromide Salt: A Convenient and Stable Source of Phosphorus(I)

Preparation and Reactivity of a Triphosphenium Bromide Salt: A Convenient and Stable Source of Phosphorus(I)

Published on: November 22, 2016

Lanthanide nitrate complexes of tri-isobutylphosphine oxide: solid state and CD2Cl2 solution structures.

Allen Bowden¹, Peter N Horton, Andrew W G Platt

¹Department of Chemistry and Analytical Sciences, The Open University, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes MK7 6BT, UK.

Inorganic Chemistry

|February 22, 2011

Summary

New lanthanide complexes with tributylphosphine oxide show consistent 9-coordinate structures. Dynamic solution behavior varies with lanthanide size and ligand, correlating with solid-state findings.

More Related Videos

The Synthesis, Characterization and Reactivity of a Series of Ruthenium N-triphosPh Complexes

The Synthesis, Characterization and Reactivity of a Series of Ruthenium N-triphos^Ph Complexes

Published on: April 10, 2015

Combining Solid-state and Solution-based Techniques: Synthesis and Reactivity of Chalcogenidoplumbates(II or IV)

Combining Solid-state and Solution-based Techniques: Synthesis and Reactivity of Chalcogenidoplumbates(II or IV)

Published on: December 29, 2016

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 4, 2026

Preparation and Reactivity of a Triphosphenium Bromide Salt: A Convenient and Stable Source of Phosphorus(I)

Preparation and Reactivity of a Triphosphenium Bromide Salt: A Convenient and Stable Source of Phosphorus(I)

Published on: November 22, 2016

The Synthesis, Characterization and Reactivity of a Series of Ruthenium N-triphosPh Complexes

The Synthesis, Characterization and Reactivity of a Series of Ruthenium N-triphos^Ph Complexes

Published on: April 10, 2015

Combining Solid-state and Solution-based Techniques: Synthesis and Reactivity of Chalcogenidoplumbates(II or IV)

Combining Solid-state and Solution-based Techniques: Synthesis and Reactivity of Chalcogenidoplumbates(II or IV)

Published on: December 29, 2016

Area of Science:

Inorganic Chemistry
Coordination Chemistry
Lanthanide Chemistry

Background:

Lanthanide complexes exhibit diverse coordination geometries and solution behaviors.
Understanding structure-property relationships in lanthanide complexes is crucial for their applications.

Purpose of the Study:

To synthesize and characterize lanthanide nitrate complexes with tributylphosphine oxide (L).
To investigate the structural and dynamic properties of these complexes in solid-state and solution.

Main Methods:

Synthesis of lanthanide nitrate complexes Ln(NO3)3L3.
Characterization using infrared spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, and elemental analysis.
Single crystal X-ray diffraction for structural determination.
Variable temperature multinuclear NMR spectroscopy for solution studies.

Main Results:

Nine-coordinate lanthanide ions with bidentate nitrates were observed in the solid state.
Subtle changes in nitrate coordination and solution dynamics were noted from samarium onward.
NMR studies revealed fluxional behavior dependent on lanthanide size and ligand, with distinct phosphorus environments in heavier lanthanide complexes.

Conclusions:

Solid-state structures are largely consistent across the lanthanide series, with minor variations from Sm onward.
Solution behavior exhibits lanthanide-dependent dynamics, indicating changes in complex speciation and fluxionality.
Correlations between solid-state structures and solution properties were established, highlighting the influence of lanthanide contraction.