What is an Ambidentate Ligand? Give an Example.

Answer: An ambidentate ligand is a sort of ligand that can bind to a central metal atom through the atoms of two different elements. More specifically, bidentate ligands have multiple donor atoms, but only one of them binds to the central metal atom during the formation of a coordinate bond. A ligand is a fragment or ion that can be attached to the middle metal atom (which can be in a 0, -ve, or +ve oxidation state). This link generally requires a ligand that layout one or more than one electron pair.  Ligands can be sorted in several ways: For example, In the sizes, The charge, and the number of electrons said to the central metal ion. 

The denticity of a ligand is the number of times a ligand can bind a metal through non-contiguous sites. This means that a ligand that can bind to metal through 2 distinct sites is bidentate, while if it binds through 3 sites, it is tridentate. Commonly, a ligand that binds via more than one atom is considered to be chelating. These polydentate ligands are often confused with ambidentate ligands. The difference is subtle.

An ambidentate ligand is a type of ligand that can bond to a central metal atom through the atoms of two different elements. This is because multiple donor atoms can be tuned. More specifically, ambidentate ligands have multiple donor atoms, but only one of them binds to the central metal atom during the formation of a coordinate bond. It is significant to observe that these ligands can join the central atom via two different atoms, but only one at a time. This sort of ligand also contributes to being extended in shape. 

Thiocyanate (SCN) is one example of a bidentate ligand. This can happen because it can lash to the coordination center via both nitrogen and sulfur. However, at any given time, only sulfur or nitrogen is used for ligation. One more example of an ambidentate ligand is NO₂. This ion can bond to the central atom via one of the NO₂ or oxygen atoms, but again not at the same time.