Question

Name the complex ion [al(cn)6]3−. the oxidation number of aluminum is +3.

Answer 1

Answer:

Hexacyanoaluminate III

Explanation:

A complex ion consists of a central metal ion and ligands. The number of ligands present is known as the coordination number of the complex ion. Complex ions could be positive or negative.

The ion in the question is a negative complex ion. Negative complex ions have their names ending with -ate. The number of ligands is first mentioned, followed by the name of the ligand(s) and lastly the central metal is named ending in -ate followed by its oxidation number in the complex ion.

Answer 2

The complex ion has a charge of -3 which means it is an anionic complex. The nomenclature for this complex can be broken in to two parts. The part that contains the cyano $(CN^-)$ and the part that contains aluminium.

Cyano Ligand

There are 6 cyanide ions in the complex ion and so we assign the prefix hexa to explain the presence of 6 anions. This makes our ligand part be name hexacyano.

The aluminium part

Since the metal ion ends up in an anionic complex we add -ate at the end of aluminium to show that we have an anionic complex.

Henceforth we combine the two parts and start with the ligand in naming the complex. $[Al(CN)_6]^-^3$ is called hexacyanoaluminate