Article
Article
Metal carbonyl
Article By:
Dobson, Gerard R. Department of Chemistry, North Texas State University, Denton, Texas.
Last reviewed:January 2020
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.418000
A complex of a transition metal combined with carbon monoxide (CO). In a metal carbonyl, the CO groups form sigma bonds to the metal through lone pairs of electrons on carbon; the metal, in turn, donates electrons to antibonding pi orbitals on CO. In so doing, the metal usually attains the electronic configuration of an inert gas (the 18-electron rule). Thus elemental chromium (Cr0), with six valence electrons, combines with six molecules of CO, each donating two electrons, to afford chromium hexacarbonyl [Cr(CO)6], in which Cr has 18 valence electrons and is isoelectronic to krypton (Kr). See also: Chemical bonding; Coordination complexes; Valence
The content above is only an excerpt.
About AccessScience
AccessScience provides the most accurate and trustworthy scientific information available.
Recognized as an award-winning gateway to scientific knowledge, AccessScience is an amazing online resource that contains high-quality reference material written specifically for students. Contributors include more than 10,000 highly qualified scientists and 46 Nobel Prize winners.
MORE THAN 8700 articles covering all major scientific disciplines and encompassing the McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science & Technology and McGraw-Hill Yearbook of Science & Technology
115,000-PLUS definitions from the McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms
3000 biographies of notable scientific figures
MORE THAN 19,000 downloadable images and animations illustrating key topics
ENGAGING VIDEOS highlighting the life and work of award-winning scientists
SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY and additional readings to guide students to deeper understanding and research
LINKS TO CITABLE LITERATURE help students expand their knowledge using primary sources of information
