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Why is ammonia a stronger ligand than acac
Accepted Answer
Ammonia (NH₃) is generally considered a stronger ligand than acetylacetonate (acac) due to its ability to donate a lone pair of electrons more readily. Here's why:
Electron Donation: Ammonia has a lone pair of electrons on the nitrogen atom, which it can donate to a metal cation to form a coordinate covalent bond. Acac, on the other hand, has a more delocalized electron system with the electrons spread across the entire molecule. This makes it less able to donate a specific lone pair to a metal ion.
Steric Factors: Ammonia is a smaller molecule with less steric hindrance than acac. This allows ammonia to approach the metal cation more easily and form a stronger bond. The larger size of acac can hinder its coordination to the metal.
Basicity: Ammonia is a stronger base than acac. This is because the nitrogen atom in ammonia is more basic than the oxygen atoms in acac. The higher basicity of ammonia means it is more likely to donate its electron pair to a metal ion.
Therefore, ammonia's stronger electron donation ability, smaller size, and higher basicity make it a stronger ligand than acac in general.
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