Trigonal prism
| Octahedral molecular geometry | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Examples | SF6, Mo(CO)6 |
| Point group | Oh |
| Steric number | 6 |
| Coordination number | 6 |
| Bond angle(s) | 90° |
| μ (Polarity) | 0 |
In chemistry, octahedral molecular geometry describes the shape of compounds with six atoms or groups of atoms or ligands symmetrically arranged around a central atom, defining the vertices of an octahedron. The octahedron has eight faces, hence the prefix . The octahedron is one of the Platonic solids, although octahedral molecules typically have an atom in their centre and no bonds between the ligand atoms. A perfect octahedron belongs to the point group Oh. Examples of octahedral compounds are sulfur hexafluoride SF6 and molybdenum hexacarbonyl Mo(CO)6. The term "octahedral" is used somewhat loosely by chemists, focusing on the geometry of the bonds to the central atom and not considering differences among the ligands themselves. For example, [Co(NH3)6]3+, which is not octahedral in the mathematical sense due to the orientation of the N-H bonds, is referred to as octahedral.
The concept of octahedral coordination geometry was developed by Alfred Werner to explain the stoichiometries and isomerism in coordination compounds. His insight allowed chemists to rationalize the number of isomers of coordination compounds. Octahedral transition-metal complexes containing amines and simple anions are often referred to Werner-type complexes.
When two or more types of ligands (La, Lb, ...) are coordinated to an octahedral metal centre (M), the complex can exist as isomers. The naming system for these isomers depends upon the number and arrangement of different ligands.
For MLa
4Lb
2, two isomers exist. These isomers of MLa
4Lb
2 are cis, if the Lb ligands are mutually adjacent, and trans, if the Lb groups are situated 180° to each other. It was the analysis of such complexes that led Alfred Werner to the 1913 Nobel Prize–winning postulation of octahedral complexes.
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