Chemistry / Unit 12 Chem 2384 short lesson, about 20 seconds
Coordination Number Sets Complex Geometry
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The idea
A complex's coordination number — donor atoms bonded to the central metal — determines geometry: two gives linear, four tetrahedral or square planar, six octahedral.
In practice
[Ag(NH3)2]+, coordination number two, is linear; [Co(H2O)6]2+, coordination number six, is octahedral.
Where people slip
Unlike VSEPR, nonbonding d electrons do not distort a complex's shape — coordination number alone predicts donor-atom arrangement.
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