Hemilability
Hemilability is a property of certain multidentate ligands in coordination chemistry and homogeneous catalysis. In a hemilabile system, one donor site forms a strong bond to a metal center while a second donor site is bound more weakly and can reversibly dissociate. This creates a temporarily open coordination position that can accommodate substrates or reactive intermediates during a catalytic cycle, without requiring dissociation of the entire ligand framework.
Typically, hemilabile ligands are bidentate or tridentate, featuring two or more donor sites with differing binding
The utility of hemilability lies in its ability to modulate the metal’s coordination environment in situ. By
See also: chelation, multidentate ligands, ligand design in catalysis.