Chirality and Coordination in Metal Complexes
Summary
Chirality in metal complexes arises when a central metal ion and its surrounding ligands adopt an arrangement that is not superimposable on its mirror image. This stereochemical property profoundly influences the electronic, magnetic and optical characteristics of a complex, enabling applications in asymmetric catalysis, enantioselective recognition, optical materials and molecular electronics. The coordination geometry—be it octahedral, tetrahedral or square-planar—combined with the nature of donor atoms and ligand design dictates the sense (Λ or Δ) of metal-centred chirality. Advances in spectroscopic techniques such as circular dichroism (CD) and vibrational circular dichroism (VCD), complemented by crystallographic and computational studies, have deepened understanding of chiroptical responses and electronic–vibrational coupling. Recent trends emphasise the construction of extended coordination polymers and metal–organic frameworks displaying supramolecular chirality, the fine-tuning of chiral induction by remote ligand substituents and the integration of chiral metal complexes into functional devices for enantioselective sensing and photonic applications.
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Chirality and Coordination in Metal Complexes publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in chirality and coordination in metal complexes across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Chirality: The geometric property whereby an object is not superimposable on its mirror image.
Enantiomer: One of two stereoisomers that are non-superimposable mirror images.
Diastereomer: A stereoisomer that is not a mirror image of another stereoisomer.
Ligand: A molecule or ion that binds to a central metal atom to form a coordination complex.
Chevron (Λ/Δ) notation: Symbols denoting left- or right-handed twist of ligands around a metal centre.
Circular Dichroism (CD): A spectroscopic technique measuring differential absorption of left- and right-circularly polarised light.
Chelate: A multidentate ligand that binds a metal centre through two or more donor atoms.
Coordination Polymer: An extended network of metal centres linked by bridging ligands, forming one-, two- or three-dimensional structures.
References
- Observation of Long-Range Vicinal Effect in Chiral Cu(II)-Cr(VI) or Cu(II)-W(VI) Bimetallic Coordination Polymers. Polymers (2011).
- Synthesis and Characterization of Bis[(R or S)‑N‑1-(X‑C6H4)ethyl-2-oxo-1-naphthaldiminato‑κ2 N,O]‑Λ/Δ-cobalt(II) (X = H, p‑CH3O, p‑Br) with Symmetry- and Distance-Dependent Vibrational Circular Dichroism Enhancement and Sign Inversion. Inorganic Chemistry (2021).
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