Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 15, 2025

Synthesis of Bimetallic Pt/Sn-based Nanoparticles in Ionic Liquids
Published on: August 23, 2018
Synthesis and electronic structure elucidation of bioinspired heterobimetallic nickel complexes
Claire R Patterson1, Paul H Oyala2, Joshua A Buss1
1Willard Henry Dow Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA. jbuss@umich.edu.
None:
Despite relevance to metalloenzyme active-sites, the selective synthesis of heterobimetallic compounds featuring unbiased, biologically relevant coordination environments remains a challenge. Herein, we disclose a stepwise synthetic strategy, leveraging kinetic stabilization by an alkali metal cation, as a means of accessing spectroscopically pure M(II)/Ni(II) (M = Co & Cu) bimetallics. Electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy, variable temperature magnetometry, and DFT calculations support perturbation of the electronic structure as a function of the heterometal within these closely related complexes.
Related Concept Videos
Valence Bond Theory
Structural Isomerism
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...
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...
Coordination Compounds and Nomenclature
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...
Formation of Complex Ions

