Summary

This topic demonstrates how to specify organometallic haptic bonds (ligand bonds).

Step by Step

Haptic bonds can be created for cyclic as well as for non-cyclic ligands. At least 3 connected ligand centers are required for haptic bond creation.

The example below demonstrates how to draw ferrocene: To start with, first draw the ligand which will contain the haptic bond centers; please note that it is not necessary to specify any double bonds, since they will be removed in the process anyway. Then select the atoms which will be part of the haptic bond by using the selection rectangle, followed by right-clicking selection area and selecting Create Multicenter Bond menu item in the appearing context menu (1).

This will create the haptic bond structure (2). Since the metal center already is selected at this stage, you can now type its element name directly from the keyboard; in this example just type 'fe' to obtain (3). To finalize the ferrocene structure, now copy the obtained structure and paste it below the original, rotate it into the desired position, and finally snap the new haptic bond end onto the "Fe" atom of the original structure to obtain (4).