Terms used in coordination chemistry

This section defines the core working vocabulary used to describe and analyse coordination compounds throughout the rest of the chapter: the coordination sphere and the counter ions outside it (9.3.1); how to calculate the charge number of the complex ion and, from it, the oxidation state of the metal (9.3.2); the coordination number of the central metal ion, and how it differs from monodentate to polydentate ligand counting (9.3.3); the structural distinction between a double salt (which falls apart completely into simple ions in water) and a true coordination complex (which keeps at least one complex ion intact) (9.3.4); and Werne …