Nomenclature of Organometallic Compounds of the Transition Elements (IUPAC Recommendations 1999)

Organometallic compounds are defined as containing at least one metal-carbon bond between an organic molecule, ion, or radical and a metal. Organometallic nomenclature therefore usually combines the nomenclature of organic chemisty and that of coordination chemistry. Provisional rules outlining nomenclature for such compounds are found both in Nomenclature of Organic Chemistry, 1979 and in Nomenclature of Inorganic Chemistry, 1990

This document describes the nomenclature for organometallic compounds of the transition elements, that is compounds with metal-carbon single bonds, metal-carbon multiple bonds as well as complexes with unsaturated molecules (metal-p-complexes).

Organometallic compounds are considered to be produced by addition reactions and so they are named on an addition principle. The name therefore is built around the central metal atom name. Organic ligand names are derived according to the rules of organic chemistry with appropriate endings to indicate the different bonding modes. To designate the points of attachment of ligands in more complicated structures, the h, k, and m-notations are used. The final section deals with the abbreviated nomenclature for metallocenes and their derivatives.