Which of the following coordination compounds would exhibit optical isomerism?
- Pentaamminenitrocobalt (III) iodide
- Diamminedichloroplatinum (II)
- trans-Dicyanobis (ethylenediamine) chromium (III) chloride
- tris-(Ethylenediamine) cobalt (III) bromide.
Answer
(4) tris-(Ethylenediamine) cobalt (III) bromide.
Solution
A complex shows optical isomerism only when it is chiral, i.e. it has no plane (or centre) of symmetry.
(1) [Co(NH3)5(NO2)]I2 is an octahedral [MA5B] type with planes of symmetry, so it is not optically active.
(2) [Pt(NH3)2Cl2] is square planar, and the molecular plane itself is a plane of symmetry, so it has no optical isomer.
(3) trans-[Cr(CN)2(en)2]Cl has a plane of symmetry in the trans form, so it is optically inactive (only the cis form is chiral).
(4) As per NCERT, [Co(en)3]3+ with three bidentate en ligands is chiral and exists as d and l enantiomers.
Answer: (4)