Term: polyhedral symbol
https://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.PT06792

Definition:
The polyhedral symbol indicates the geometrical arrangements of the coordinating atoms about the central atom. It consists of one or more capital italic letters derived from common geometric terms (tetrahedron, square plane, octahedron, etc.) which denote the idealised geometry of the ligands around the coordination centre, and an arabic numeral that is the coordination number of the central atom. The polyhedral symbol is used as an affix, enclosed in parentheses, and separated from the name by a hyphen. Examples are T-4, SP-4, TBPY-5, SPY-5, OC-6, and CU-8.

Related Terms:
1) central atom (http://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.C00930).
2) ligands (http://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.L03518).
3) coordination (http://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.C01329).
4) coordination number (http://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.C01331).

Source: PAC, 1997, 69, 1251. 'Glossary of terms used in bioinorganic chemistry (IUPAC Recommendations 1997)' on page 1292 (https://doi.org/10.1351/pac199769061251)

Citation: 'polyhedral symbol' in IUPAC Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 5th ed. International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry; 2025. Online version 5.0.0, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.PT06792

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