ROTATION AXIS IN OCTAHEDRON AND WERNER COMPOUNDS

Last Update 26/ 03/ 2001

in English/ in Esperanto/ in French/ in Portuguese

Introduction

This page enables an interactive study of symmetry applied to crystallography and inorganic chemistry. The figure can be rotated around two rotation axes by the user. Every coloured sphere may represent a linkage in a coordination compound with chromium or cobalt at its centre, similar to those studied by Alfred Werner, first Nobel Prize laureate in inorganic chemistry in 1913.

Description

Initially the figure presents the octahedron with its four fold axis directed perpendicular to the monitor screen. Depending on the selected icons on the right side of the figure this may a two fold axis. It can be operated by a push and drag mouse action on the horizontal scrolling bar on the figure. After a push and drag mouse action on the scrolling bar at the bottom of the figure a two or three fold axis (or neither) can be oriented perpendicular to the monitor screen, depending on the selected object

Suggested symmetry exercise

Which of the available structures have two, three and four fold axis and which have more than one symmetry axis?

Bibliography

Huheey, J.E., Keiter, E.A. and Keiter, R.L., Inorganic Chemistry: Principles of Structure and Reactivity, HarperCollins Pub., N.Y., 1993, pg.387.

Cotton, F.A., Wilkinson, G. and Gauss, P.L., Basic Inorganic Chemistry, John Willey & Sons, N.Y., 1987, pg.160.

Please send your comments.

Table of subjects.
Presentation
Chemistry Analytical Chromatography
Elemental organic analysis
Volumetric analysis, simulation
Crystallography 3 fold screw axis
4 fold inversion axis on tetrahedron
5 fold rotation axis absent in crystallography
Binary axis and reflection plane in stereographic projection
Bravais lattices
Conic sections under symmetry operators
Converting from spherical coordinates to stereographic projection
Crystal lattice and unit cell
Determination of unit cell
Elements of symmetry in action - animation
Elements of symmetry in action - cube game
Elements of symmetry in action - dodecahedron game
Elements of symmetry in action - icosahedron game
Elements of symmetry in action - octahedron game
Elements of symmetry in action - tetrahedron game
Ewald sphere and crystal measurements
Extinctions
Five classes in the cubic system
Five classes in the rhombohedral system
From tetrahedron to prism
Gnomonic projection
Improper symmetry axis
Miller indices
Miller indices - animation
Miller indices - cube game
Miller indices - octahedron game
Miller indices - rhombic dodecahedron game
Miller indices - tetrahedron game
Mirror plane
Mirror planes and Miller indices game - tetrahedron
Orientations of the cube
p2mm
Plane symmetry groups
Question on point group
Rotation axis in octahedron and Werner compounds
Rotation axis on tetrahedron and organic molecules
Rotation of objects about an arbitrary axis
Rotation of the parallel and stereographic projections of the cube
Rotation of the stereographic and parallel projection of the cube III
Seven faces in stereographic projection
Seven classes in the hexagonal system
Seven classes in the tetragonal system
Six elements of symmetry in seven orientations
Spherical projection of the octahedron
Stereographic projection
Stereographic projection of six polyhedra in different orientations
Straight line equations and symmetry elements
Symmetry, 2 fold axis
Symmetry, 2, 3 and 6 fold axis in benzene
Symmetry, 3 fold axis in the cube
Symmetry, 4 fold axis in the cube
Symmetry, 4 fold axis in the unit cell of gold
Symmetry elements and Miller indices game
Symmetry elements and Miller indices game - octahedron
Symmetry in art and in crystallography
Three classes in the monoclinic system
Three classes in the orthorhombic system
Twin crystals
Two classes in the triclinic system
Unit cell in hexagonal net
General Butane conformations
Density
Electrochemical cell
Ethane conformations
Oxidation and reduction
Resources of chemical-ICT: water, health and symmetry
Solid and liquid gold