Octahedral molecular geometry

In <a href="/facts/Chemistry/SrNqkGVm">chemistry</a>, octahedral molecular geometry, also called square bipyramidal, describes the shape of compounds with six atoms or groups of atoms or <a href="/facts/Ligand/6etB3qeW">ligands</a> symmetrically arranged around a central atom, defining the vertices of an <a href="/facts/Octahedron/G38q92xW">octahedron</a>. The octahedron has eight faces, hence the <a href="/facts/Prefix_(linguistics)/C4Lw8npg">prefix</a> octa. The octahedron is one of the <a href="/facts/Platonic_solid/jraREXFD">Platonic solids</a>, although octahedral molecules typically have an atom in their centre and no bonds between the ligand atoms. A perfect octahedron belongs to the <a href="/facts/Point_group/41NSqUN6">point group</a> Oh. Examples of octahedral compounds are <a href="/facts/Sulfur_hexafluoride/jeee0PJ8">sulfur hexafluoride</a> SF6 and <a href="/facts/Molybdenum_hexacarbonyl/anfQoYDJ">molybdenum hexacarbonyl</a> 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, <a href="/facts/Cobalt(III)_hexammine_chloride/fAVC3dyV">[Co(NH3)6]3+</a>, 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 <a href="/facts/Alfred_Werner/xmFvHVIb">Alfred Werner</a> to explain the stoichiometries and isomerism in <a href="/facts/Coordination_compound/1tCyeQUm">coordination compounds</a>. 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 as <a href="/facts/Alfred_Werner/xmFvHVIb">Werner-type complexes</a>.

Octahedral molecular geometry open-in-new

Octahedral molecular geometry