Chinese lantern structure

{{Short description|Coordination complex where two metal atoms are bridged by four bidentate ligands}}

File:Copper(II)-acetate-3D-balls.png

In chemistry, the Chinese lantern structure is a coordination complex where two metal atoms are bridged by four bidentate ligands. This structure type is also known as a paddlewheel complex. Examples include chromium(II) acetate, molybdenum(II) acetate, and rhodium(II) acetate, copper(II) acetate dihydrate. The name is derived from the resemblance between the structure and a Chinese paper lantern. Often additional ligands are bound to the metal centers along the M---M vector. The degree of metal-metal bonding varies according to the d-electron configuration.{{cite book|last1=Cotton|first1=F. A.|last2=Walton|first2=R. A.|title=Multiple Bonds Between Metal Atoms|url=https://archive.org/details/multiplebondsbet0000cott|url-access=registration|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford|date=1993|isbn=0-19-855649-7}}