Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-chemistry-course-of-the-year-3-of-the-natural-sciences-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2021/paper-1/10/c/i/solution

Nitrogen-bound is favoured. Eu(III) is a small, highly charged hard Lewis acid, whereas the nitrogen end of thiocyanate is harder than its more polarizable sulfur end. The hard and soft acids and bases argument therefore predicts N coordination, together with coordination through both nitrogen atoms of each bipyridine.

New to topics? Read the docs here!