Question

Write the formula of the coordination compound pentaamminecarbonatocobalt(III) iodide. Enclose the coordination complex in square brackets, even if there are no counter ions. Do not enclose a ligand in parentheses if it appears only once. Enter water as H2O. Use any abbreviation given in blue below, and enclose it in parentheses if there is more than one.

Answer 1

Answer:

[Co(NH3)5CO3]I3

Explanation:

The naming of coordination compounds follows certain rules specified by IUPAC. Usually, the name of the complex makes it quite easy to deduce its structure.

"Pentaamine" means that there are five NH3 ligands as shown in the structure. The ligand carbonato is CO3^2-.  It has no prefix attached to it in the IUPAC name of the complex hence there is only one carbonato ligand present(recall that the complex has a coordination number of six). I did not enclose it within parenthesis as required in the question.

Lastly the III that appeared after the metal name "cobalt" shows its oxidation state. The iodide counter ions must then be 3 in number in order to satisfy this primary valency of the metal hence the inclusion of I3 in the structure of the complex.