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

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...

Colors and Magnetism

Colors and Magnetism

Color in Coordination Complexes
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...

Complexation Equilibria: The Chelate Effect

Complexation Equilibria: The Chelate Effect

In complexation reactions, metal atoms or cations interact with ligands to form donor-acceptor adducts called metal complexes. Ligands that bind through one donor site are monodentate, ligands with two donor sites are bidentate, and those with more than two donor sites are polydentate ligands. For example, ethylene diamine is a bidentate ligand that binds through two nitrogen donor atoms, forming a five-membered ring. EDTA is a polydentate ligand that binds through four oxygen and two nitrogen...

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...

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...

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...

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by

Same author

Adaptive Cavity-Enabled Crystalline Chirality in Nanocarbon Cages.

Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English)·2026

Same author

Facile Preparation of a Poly[2]Catenane Network Using Self-Assembled [2]Catenane Unit.

Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English)·2026

Same author

Fused Metallo-Carbaporphyrin-Embedded Graphene Nanoribbon Segments.

Journal of the American Chemical Society·2026

Same author

Recognition-Based Chiral Amplification through Adaptive Locking.

Journal of the American Chemical Society·2026

Same author

Nanobody-Conjugated Theranostic Prodrug Targeting α<sub>v</sub>β<sub>3</sub> Integrin Enables Precision Cancer Therapy With Real-Time Imaging.

Advanced healthcare materials·2026

Same author

A next-generation multimetal complex induces immunogenic cell death with distinct transcriptomic signatures.

Chemical communications (Cambridge, England)·2026

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Sep 26, 2025

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

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

Published on: April 10, 2015

Porphyrinoid actinide complexes.

Gabriela I Vargas-Zúñiga¹, Michael A Boreen², Daniel N Mangel¹

¹Department of Chemistry, The University of Texas at Austin, 105 East 24th Street, Stop A5300, Austin, Texas 78712, USA. sessler@cm.utexas.edu.

Chemical Society Reviews

|April 22, 2022

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Actinide complexes with porphyrinoids offer diverse coordination and electronic properties, stabilizing unique early actinide structures. This review details their synthesis, structure, and reactivity, including transuranic elements.

More Related Videos

Combining Solid-state and Solution-based Techniques: Synthesis and Reactivity of ChalcogenidoplumbatesII or IV

Combining Solid-state and Solution-based Techniques: Synthesis and Reactivity of ChalcogenidoplumbatesII or IV

Published on: December 29, 2016

Amide Coupling Reaction for the Synthesis of Bispyridine-based Ligands and Their Complexation to Platinum as Dinuclear Anticancer Agents

Amide Coupling Reaction for the Synthesis of Bispyridine-based Ligands and Their Complexation to Platinum as Dinuclear Anticancer Agents

Published on: May 28, 2014

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Sep 26, 2025

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

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

Published on: April 10, 2015

Combining Solid-state and Solution-based Techniques: Synthesis and Reactivity of ChalcogenidoplumbatesII or IV

Combining Solid-state and Solution-based Techniques: Synthesis and Reactivity of ChalcogenidoplumbatesII or IV

Published on: December 29, 2016

Amide Coupling Reaction for the Synthesis of Bispyridine-based Ligands and Their Complexation to Platinum as Dinuclear Anticancer Agents

Amide Coupling Reaction for the Synthesis of Bispyridine-based Ligands and Their Complexation to Platinum as Dinuclear Anticancer Agents

Published on: May 28, 2014

Area of Science:

Coordination Chemistry
Organometallic Chemistry
Materials Science

Background:

Actinide complexes with porphyrins and related oligopyrrolic systems (porphyrinoids) have been studied since the 1960s.
Thorium and uranium complexes are most common due to stability and accessibility.
Porphyrinoids offer diverse ligand environments, enabling unique actinide complex stabilization.

Purpose of the Study:

To review key examples of porphyrinoid actinide complexes.
To highlight unique structures and electronic features.
To cover synthesis, structure, electronic properties, and reactivity patterns.

Main Methods:

Literature review of actinide-porphyrinoid complexes up to December 2021.
Focus on synthesis and structural characterization.
Analysis of electronic features and reactivity of representative systems.

Main Results:

Porphyrinoids stabilize unique early actinide complexes with unusual structural motifs.
Examples of complexes involving transuranic elements are included.
Detailed discussion of synthesis, structure, electronic properties, and reactivity.

Conclusions:

Porphyrinoid ligands are crucial for accessing novel actinide coordination chemistry.
These complexes exhibit diverse structural and electronic properties.
Further research into transuranic element complexes is warranted.