The coordination number of cobalt in tris(ethylendiamine) cobalt(III) ion, `[Co(en)_(3)]^(3+)` , is

Options

A. 3
B. 6
C. 9
D. 5

Answer

B

Explanation

The number of ligand donor atoms to which the central metal atom/ion is directly bonded in a complex enity is called the coordination number of the metal. In the complex ion, `[Co(en_(3))^(3+)]` , the coordination number (CN) of Co is 6 because en (ethane -1,2-diamine) is a bidenate ligand and hence provides two donor atoms.