Coordination Numbers in Ln Chemistry

Lanthanide 3+ ions have large ionic radii. They are typical hard Lewis acids and the bonding in their complexes is electrostatic and non-directional. As a result, steric factors govern the coordination geometry of lanthanide complexes. Coordination numbers are generally high (>6) and coordination geometries are often irregular. Low coordination numbers can be achieved with very bulky ligands. TheTable below gives examples of complexes with coordination numbers from 3-12.

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