Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 15, 2026

Structure and Coordination Determination of Peptide-metal Complexes Using 1D and 2D 1H NMR
Published on: December 16, 2013
Synthetic, crystallographic, and computational study of copper(II) complexes of ethylenediaminetetracarboxylate
Zoran D Matović1, Vesna D Miletić, Marina Ćendić
1Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Kragujevac, Kragujevac SRB-34000, Serbia. zmatovic@kg.ac.rs
Abstract:
Copper(II) complexes of hexadentate ethylenediaminetetracarboxylic acid type ligands H(4)eda3p and H(4)eddadp (H(4)eda3p = ethylenediamine-N-acetic-N,N',N'-tri-3-propionic acid; H(4)eddadp = ethylenediamine-N,N'-diacetic-N,N'-di-3-propionic acid) have been prepared. An octahedral trans(O(6)) geometry (two propionate ligands coordinated in axial positions) has been established crystallographically for the Ba[Cu(eda3p)]·8H(2)O compound, while Ba[Cu(eddadp)]·8H(2)O is proposed to adopt a trans(O(5)) geometry (two axial acetates) on the basis of density functional theory calculations and comparisons of IR and UV-vis spectral data. Experimental and computed structural data correlating similar copper(II) chelate complexes have been used to better understand the isomerism and departure from regular octahedral geometry within the series. The in-plane O-Cu-N chelate angles show the smallest deviation from the ideal octahedral value of 90°, and hence the lowest strain, for the eddadp complex with two equatorial β-propionate rings. A linear dependence between tetragonality and the number of five-membered rings has been established. A natural bonding orbital analysis of the series of complexes is also presented.
Related Concept Videos
Crystal Field Theory - Octahedral Complexes
To explain the observed behavior of transition metal complexes (such as colors), a model involving electrostatic interactions between the electrons from the ligands and the electrons in the unhybridized d orbitals of the central metal atom has been developed. This electrostatic model is crystal field theory (CFT). It helps to understand, interpret, and predict the colors, magnetic behavior, and some structures of coordination compounds of transition metals.
CFT focuses on...
EDTA: Chemistry and Properties
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,...
Complexometric Titration: Ligands
Extraction: Advanced Methods
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...

