Hydrated metal ions in aqueous solution: How regular are their structures?

The hydration reaction is defined as the transfer of an ion or neutral chemical species from the gaseous phase into water, M n + (g) → M n + (aq). In this process, water molecules bind to metal ions through ion-dipole bonds of mainly electrostatic character. The hydration reaction is always strongly exothermic with increasing heat of hydration with increasing charge density of the ion. The structures of the hydrated metal ions in aqueous solution display a variety of configurations depending on the size and electronic properties of the metal ion. The basic configurations of hydrated metal ions in aqueous solution are tetrahedral, octahedral, square antiprismatic, and tricapped trigonal prismatic. This paper…

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