Sunday, 17 February 2008

weird words of science 8 ligands ties



Weird Words of Science 8: Ligands, the ties that bind

Many transition metals react with bases (such as ammonia) to produce

beautifully colored transition metal-ligand complexes. The word ligand

comes from the Latin ligare which means to tie or bind. The same root

leads to ligaments, which tie your bones together.

The photo shows green Ni(H[2]O)[6]^2+ and blue green Ni(NH[3])[6]^2+.


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