Coordination Chemistry of Chalcogen Ligands
Summary
The field of coordination chemistry of chalcogen ligands explores the binding of sulphur, selenium and tellurium donor atoms to metal centres, yielding complexes with diverse structural motifs and reactivity profiles. These ligands benefit from the varying polarisation and softness of chalcogen atoms, which afford strong metal–ligand interactions and enable fine tuning of electronic properties. Coordination modes range from monodentate binding through a single chalcogen atom to chelating and bridging architectures that link multiple metal centres. Such versatility underpins applications in homogeneous catalysis, materials science and bioinorganic modelling, where redox-active chalcogen ligands can mediate electron transfer and stabilise unusual oxidation states. Recent advances have emphasised rational ligand design to control bite angles, ligand ambiphilicity and polymeric assembly, expanding the scope of chalcogen-based systems for energy conversion, small-molecule activation and molecular electronics. Comprehensive spectroscopic, crystallographic and computational studies continue to reveal subtle trends in bond lengths, angles and reactivity that guide the development of next-generation chalcogen coordination compounds.
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Coordination Chemistry of Chalcogen Ligands publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in coordination chemistry of chalcogen ligands across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Chalcogen ligand: A ligand containing a group 16 donor atom (S, Se or Te) that binds to a metal centre.
Chelating ligand: A ligand that coordinates through two or more donor atoms to form a ring with the metal.
Bridging ligand: A ligand that simultaneously binds to two or more metal centres, linking them together.
Ambiphilicity: The ability of a ligand to function both as an electron donor and an electron acceptor, facilitating reversible redox processes.
References
- [Tc(NO)Cl2(PPh3)2(CH3CN)] and Its Reactions with 2,2′-Dipyridyl Dichalcogenides. Molecules (2025).
- Crystal structure of a palladium(II) complex containing the wide bite-angle bis(selenium) ligand, cis-[(tBuNH)(Se)P(μ-NtBu)2P(Se)(NHtBu)]. Acta Crystallographica Section E: Crystallographic Communications (2018).
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