Question

Ethylene diamine tetraacetate (EDTA) ion is ______.

Options

• Tridentate ligand with three “N” donor atoms.

• Hexadentate ligand with four “O” and two “N” donor atoms.

• Unidentate ligand

• Bidentate ligand with two “N” donor atoms.

Answer 1

Ethylene diamine tetraacetate (EDTA) ion is hexadentate ligand with four “O” and two “N” donor atoms.

Explanation:

Ethylene diamine tetraacetate (EDTA) is a hexadentate ligand, meaning it can form six bonds with a metal ion. This is due to the presence of six donor atoms:

• Two nitrogen (N) donor atoms from the amine groups (-NH₂).
• Four oxygen (O) donor atoms from the acetate groups (-COO⁻).

Each of the six donor atoms can coordinate with a metal ion, allowing EDTA to form a stable, chelated complex with the metal. Hence, EDTA is a hexadentate ligand with four O atoms and two N atoms as donor atoms.