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Coordination Number and Geometry

Coordination Number and Geometry

For transition metal complexes, the coordination number determines the geometry around the central metal ion. Table 1 compares coordination numbers to molecular geometry. The most common structures of the complexes in coordination compounds are octahedral, tetrahedral, and square planar.

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...

Metallic Solids

Metallic Solids

Metallic solids such as crystals of copper, aluminum, and iron are formed by metal atoms. The structure of metallic crystals is often described as a uniform distribution of atomic nuclei within a “sea” of delocalized electrons. The atoms within such a metallic solid are held together by a unique force known as metallic bonding that gives rise to many useful and varied bulk properties.
All metallic solids exhibit high thermal and electrical conductivity, metallic luster, and malleability. Many...

Lattice Centering and Coordination Number

Lattice Centering and Coordination Number

The structure of a crystalline solid, whether a metal or not, is best described by considering its simplest repeating unit, which is referred to as its unit cell. The unit cell consists of lattice points that represent the locations of atoms or ions. The entire structure then consists of this unit cell repeating in three dimensions. The three different types of unit cells present in the cubic lattice are illustrated in Figure 1.
Types of Unit Cells
Imagine taking a large number of identical...

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...

Ionic Bonding and Electron Transfer

Ionic Bonding and Electron Transfer

Ions are atoms or molecules bearing an electrical charge. A cation (a positive ion) forms when a neutral atom loses one or more electrons from its valence shell, and an anion (a negative ion) forms when a neutral atom gains one or more electrons in its valence shell. Compounds composed of ions are called ionic compounds (or salts), and their constituent ions are held together by ionic bonds: electrostatic forces of attraction between oppositely charged cations and anions.

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 23, 2026

Construction and Systematical Symmetric Studies of a Series of Supramolecular Clusters with Binary or Ternary Ammonium Triphenylacetates

Construction and Systematical Symmetric Studies of a Series of Supramolecular Clusters with Binary or Ternary Ammonium Triphenylacetates

Published on: February 15, 2016

Structures of small bismuth cluster cations.

Rebecca Kelting¹, Alexander Baldes, Ulrike Schwarz

¹Institut für Physikalische Chemie, Karlsruher Institut für Technologie, Fritz-Haber-Weg 2, 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany.

The Journal of Chemical Physics

|April 24, 2012

Summary

Bismuth cluster cations adopt open, prolate structures above 8 atoms, differing from typical metallic clusters. Accurate modeling requires spin-orbit coupling for understanding their unique properties and fragmentation.

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Area of Science:

Physical Chemistry
Materials Science
Computational Chemistry

Background:

Bismuth clusters exhibit unique structural and electronic properties.
Understanding cluster formation is crucial for materials science applications.

Purpose of the Study:

To determine the structures of bismuth cluster cations (4-14 atoms).
To investigate the influence of electronic structure on cluster properties.

Main Methods:

Gas phase ion mobility measurements
Trapped ion electron diffraction
Density functional theory (DFT) calculations with spin-orbit coupling

Main Results:

Bismuth clusters (n>8) form prolate structures with low coordination numbers.
These structures resemble those of semiconducting elements, not metallic ones.
Spin-orbit coupling is essential for accurate DFT modeling of bismuth clusters.

Conclusions:

Bismuth clusters display unique structural motifs influenced by their electronic nature.
Fragmentation pathways and isomer distributions are sensitive to formation conditions and computational methods.