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Monodentate vs. Polydentate Ligands

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State

A monodentate ligand bonds through a single donor atom, while a polydentate, or chelating, ligand bonds through two or more donor atoms at once.

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Chloride is monodentate, but ethylenediamine, with two donor nitrogens, is a bidentate chelating ligand.

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Counting donor atoms, not total atoms in the ligand, determines denticity — a large ligand with one donor atom is still monodentate.