Sale complex

A complex salt It is a salt that, dissociating itself, separates in ions other than those that would form the simple compounds from which it is composed.

An example is sodium exacloroplatin, Na formula₂PtC₆: this salt is formally composed of NaCl sodium chloride and PtCl platinum chloride₄. In solution, it dissociates like this:

Nana₂PtC₆ 2Na⁺ + PtCl₆²⁻

therefore differently from how they would dissociate its simple components:

NaCl → Na⁺ + Cl⁻

PtC₄ → P⁴⁺ + 4Cl⁻

The Anion PtCl₆²⁻ is a complex, so complex salt is synonymous with composed of coordination.

Complex salts are not to be confused with Double salts, which ionize exactly like their components.

Chemistry portal: the portal of science of composition, properties and transformations of matter