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Q.(i) Write the postulates of Werner's theory of co-ordination complexes.

(ii) What is the action of ethane-1,2-diol on acetone?
Maharashtra MsbshseMaharashtra HSC (MSBSHSE) Board 2026Subjective· 3mImportance★★★★★
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Werner's postulates explain primary/secondary valency and complex geometry; acetone with ethylene glycol under acid catalysis gives a cyclic ketal.

(i) Postulates of Werner's theory:

  1. In coordination compounds, metals exhibit two types of valency — primary (ionisable) valency, satisfied by negative ions, and secondary (non-ionisable/coordinate) valency, satisfied by negative ions or neutral molecules. Every metal has a fixed, characteristic primary and secondary valency.

  2. A metal tends to satisfy both its primary and secondary valencies; primary valency is non-directional while secondary valency is directional.

  3. The secondary valencies are directed in space towards fixed positions, giving the complex a definite geometrical shape (e.g. octahedral, tetrahedral, square planar) — this postulate is the basis of modern coordination/stereochemistry theory.

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