Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 1, 2026

Synthesis of a Water-soluble Metal–Organic Complex Array
Published on: October 8, 2016
[μ-N,N,N',N'-Tetra-kis(2-pyridylmeth-yl)-hexane-1,6-diamine]bis-[dichlorido-manganese(II)]
Abstract:
The asymmetric unit of the title compound, [Mn(2)Cl(4)(C(30)H(36)N(6))], contains one-half of the formula unit; a centre of inversion is located at the mid-point of the mol-ecule. The two Mn(2+) ions are bridged by the dual tri-dentate N,N,N',N'-tetra-kis(2-pyridylmeth-yl)hexane-1,6-diamine ligand to form a dinuclear complex. Each Mn atom is five-coordinated in an approximately square-pyramidal geometry by three N atoms from the ligand and two Cl atoms. Inter-molecular π-π inter-actions between adjacent pyridine rings with a centroid-centroid distance of 3.576 (2) Å are reported.
Related Concept Videos
Valence Bond Theory
Colors and Magnetism
When atoms or molecules absorb light at the proper frequency, their electrons are excited to higher-energy orbitals. For many main group atoms and molecules, the absorbed photons are in the ultraviolet range of the electromagnetic spectrum, which cannot be detected by the human eye. For coordination compounds, the energy difference between the d orbitals often allows photons in the visible range to be absorbed and emitted, which is seen as colors by the human eye.
Coordination Number and Geometry
Crystal Field Theory - Tetrahedral and Square Planar Complexes
Crystal field theory (CFT) is applicable to molecules in geometries other than octahedral. In octahedral complexes, the lobes of the dx2−y2 and dz2 orbitals point directly at the ligands. For tetrahedral complexes, the d orbitals remain in place, but with only four ligands located between the axes. None of the orbitals points directly at the tetrahedral ligands. However, the dx2−y2 and dz2 orbitals (along the Cartesian axes) overlap with the ligands less than the dxy,...

