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

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.

Coordination Compounds and Nomenclature

Coordination Compounds and Nomenclature

In most main group element compounds, the valence electrons of the isolated atoms combine to form chemical bonds that satisfy the octet rule. For instance, the four valence electrons of carbon overlap with electrons from four hydrogen atoms to form CH4. The one valence electron leaves sodium and adds to the seven valence electrons of chlorine to form the ionic formula unit NaCl (Figure 1a). Transition metals do not normally bond in this fashion. They primarily form coordinate covalent bonds, a...

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....

Metal-Ligand Bonds

Metal-Ligand Bonds

The hemoglobin in the blood, the chlorophyll in green plants, vitamin B-12, and the catalyst used in the manufacture of polyethylene all contain coordination compounds. Ions of the metals, especially the transition metals, are likely to form complexes.
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...

Ethers from Alcohols: Alcohol Dehydration and Williamson Ether Synthesis

Ethers from Alcohols: Alcohol Dehydration and Williamson Ether Synthesis

Overview
Ethers can be prepared from organic compounds by various methods. Some of them are discussed below,
Preparation of Ethers by Alcohol Dehydration
In this method, in the presence of protic acids, alcohol dehydrates to produce alkenes and ethers under different conditions. For example, in the presence of sulphuric acid, dehydration of ethanol at 413 K yields ethoxyethane, whereas it yields ethene at 443 K.

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...

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by

Same author

Synthesis, Structure, and Reactivity of a Magnesium(0) Complex with a Polarized Mg<sup>δ-</sup>─Ca<sup>δ+</sup> Bond.

Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English)·2026

Same author

A Modular Approach to Asymmetric Mg(I) Complexes Using a Unique Cyclopentadienyl Mg(I) Complex.

Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English)·2025

Same author

Mono- and dinuclear β-oxo-δ-diiminate (BODDI) based catalysts for the ring-opening polymerization of L-lactide.

Dalton transactions (Cambridge, England : 2003)·2025

Same author

Syntheses and Reactivity of Yb and Sm Inverse Sandwich Arene Complexes.

Chemistry (Weinheim an der Bergstrasse, Germany)·2025

Same author

Redox-active inverse crowns - pockets for heavier chalcogenides.

Dalton transactions (Cambridge, England : 2003)·2025

Same author

Trends in benzene inverse sandwich complexes of the alkaline-earth metals Mg, Ca, Sr and Ba.

Chemical science·2025

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Feb 8, 2026

Structure and Coordination Determination of Peptide-metal Complexes Using 1D and 2D 1H NMR

Structure and Coordination Determination of Peptide-metal Complexes Using 1D and 2D 1H NMR

Published on: December 16, 2013

Unsupported metal silyl ether coordination.

Jürgen Pahl¹, Holger Elsen, Alexander Friedrich

¹Inorganic and Organometallic Chemistry, University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Egerlandstrasse 1, 91058 Erlangen, Germany. sjoerd.harder@fau.de.

Chemical Communications (Cambridge, England)

|June 28, 2018

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Simple silyl ethers are typically inert to metal bonding. However, a highly Lewis-acidic magnesium species can enforce complexation, stabilizing unsupported metal silyl ether coordination through agostic and van der Waals interactions.

More Related Videos

Tuning the Acidity of Pt/ CNTs Catalysts for Hydrodeoxygenation of Diphenyl Ether

Tuning the Acidity of Pt/ CNTs Catalysts for Hydrodeoxygenation of Diphenyl Ether

Published on: August 17, 2019

Quantification of Metal Leaching in Immobilized Metal Affinity Chromatography

Quantification of Metal Leaching in Immobilized Metal Affinity Chromatography

Published on: January 17, 2020

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Feb 8, 2026

Structure and Coordination Determination of Peptide-metal Complexes Using 1D and 2D 1H NMR

Structure and Coordination Determination of Peptide-metal Complexes Using 1D and 2D 1H NMR

Published on: December 16, 2013

Tuning the Acidity of Pt/ CNTs Catalysts for Hydrodeoxygenation of Diphenyl Ether

Tuning the Acidity of Pt/ CNTs Catalysts for Hydrodeoxygenation of Diphenyl Ether

Published on: August 17, 2019

Quantification of Metal Leaching in Immobilized Metal Affinity Chromatography

Quantification of Metal Leaching in Immobilized Metal Affinity Chromatography

Published on: January 17, 2020

Area of Science:

Organometallic Chemistry
Silicon Chemistry

Background:

Normal ethers readily form complexes with metals.
Simple silyl ethers, such as bis(trimethylsilyl) ether, are generally unreactive towards metal complexation.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the coordination of a highly Lewis-acidic magnesium species with a simple silyl ether.
To explore the nature of bonding and stabilization in unsupported metal silyl ether complexes.

Main Methods:

Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations were employed to model the interaction.
Analysis of electronic structure and bonding interactions.

Main Results:

A cationic, highly Lewis-acidic magnesium species was shown to enforce complexation with a simple silyl ether.
DFT calculations revealed significant contributions from agostic interactions and van der Waals attractions to complex stability.
This represents the first documented instance of unsupported metal silyl ether coordination.

Conclusions:

The study demonstrates that specific, highly reactive metal species can overcome the inherent inertness of simple silyl ethers.
Agostic and van der Waals forces play a crucial role in stabilizing these unusual coordination complexes.
This finding expands the understanding of metal-ether interactions and coordination chemistry.