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 a...

In a complex ion, the metal ion is bound to anionic or neutral molecules, known as ligands. Ligands have one or more lone pairs of electrons and act as electron-pair donors or Lewis bases. They donate the electron pair to the metal ion, which acts as an electron-pair acceptor or a Lewis acid. Thus, a coordinate covalent bond between the metal io...