bidentate

(adjective)

Of a ligand, forming two separate chemical bonds to a coordinating metal ion.

Related Terms

Examples of bidentate in the following topics:

  • Coordination Number, Ligands, and Geometries

    • A ligand that binds through two sites is classified as bidentate, and three sites as tridentate.
    • A classic bidentate ligand is ethylenediamine, which is derived by the linking of two ammonia groups with an ethylene (-CH2CH2-) linker.
    • For example, trans-spanning ligands are bidentate ligands that can span coordination positions on opposite sides of a coordination complex.

  • Chelating Agents

    • In (1), the bidentate ligand ethylenediamine forms a chelate complex with the copper ion.

  • Isomers in Coordination Compounds

    • The symbol Λ (lambda) is used as a prefix to describe the left-handed propeller twist formed by three bidentate ligands.

  • Siderophores

    • The most effective siderophores are those that have three bidentate ligands per molecule, forming a hexadentate complex and causing a smaller entropic change than that caused by chelating a single ferric ion with separate ligands.