What is the Difference Between Homoleptic and Heteroleptic Complexes?
🆚 Go to Comparative Table 🆚The primary difference between homoleptic and heteroleptic complexes lies in the nature of the ligands attached to the metal center.
- Homoleptic complexes contain identical ligands attached to a metal center. These complexes are found in inorganic chemistry when discussing transition metal complexes. For example, [Co(NH3)6]3+ is a homoleptic complex, as only one type of ligand, NH3, surrounds the Co3+ ion.
- Heteroleptic complexes have at least one different ligand attached to the complex's metal center. These complexes also occur in inorganic chemistry, specifically in coordination chemistry. An example of a heteroleptic complex is [Co(NH3)4Cl2]+, where two types of ligands, NH3 and Cl, are attached to the Co3+ ion.
In summary, the main difference between homoleptic and heteroleptic complexes is that homoleptic complexes have identical ligands attached to a metal center, while heteroleptic complexes have at least one different ligand attached to the metal center.
On this pageWhat is the Difference Between Homoleptic and Heteroleptic Complexes? Comparative Table: Homoleptic vs Heteroleptic Complexes
Comparative Table: Homoleptic vs Heteroleptic Complexes
The main difference between homoleptic and heteroleptic complexes lies in the nature of the ligands attached to the metal center. Here is a table comparing the two types of complexes:
Feature | Homoleptic Complexes | Heteroleptic Complexes |
---|---|---|
Definition | Chemical compounds containing identical ligands attached to a metal center. | Chemical compounds containing at least one different ligand attached to a metal center. |
Ligands | All the same ligands. | Different types of ligands. |
Examples | Dialkyl magnesium complex, trimethylaluminum in an ether such as THF, triaryl or trialkyl borane. | Tetraaminedichloro cobalt (III), ${{\left[ \text{Co}{{\left( \text{N}{{\text{H}}{3}} \right)}{\text{4}}}\text{C}{{\text{l}}_{2}}. |
In summary, homoleptic complexes have identical ligands attached to a metal center, whereas heteroleptic complexes have different types of ligands attached to a metal center.
Read more:
- Homolysis vs Heterolysis
- Homocyclic vs Heterocyclic Compounds
- Homonuclear vs Heteronuclear Aromatic Compounds
- Homolytic vs Heterolytic Bond Dissociation Energy
- Homodimer vs Heterodimer
- Homothallic vs Heterothallic Fungi
- Homolytic vs Heterolytic Fission
- High Spin vs Low Spin Complexes
- Homonuclear vs Heteronuclear Diatomic Molecules
- Inert vs Labile Complexes
- Coordination Compound vs Complex Ion
- Elementary vs Complex Reaction
- Square Planar vs Tetrahedral Complexes
- Carbonyl vs Nitrosyl Complexes
- Diastereomers vs Enantiomers
- Hypervalent vs Hypovalent Compounds
- Homogeneous vs Heterogeneous Reactions
- HOMO vs LUMO
- Enantiotopic vs Diastereotopic