Denticity of a ligand refers to the number of donor groups in a given ligand that bind to the central metal atom in a coordination complex. In other words, it is the number of pairs of electrons shared with the metal atom or ion. Ligands can be classified as monodentate, bidentate, tridentate, tetradentate, pentadentate, or hexadentate, depending on the number of donor atoms that attach to the metal atom or ion_have_enhanced_metal_ion_affinity/3.1.1%3A_Chelating_Ligands)/05%3A_Coordination_Chemistry/5.02%3A_Ligands_and_Nomenclature).

• Monodentate: These ligands have only one donor atom which can attach to a single metal cation or atom_have_enhanced_metal_ion_affinity/3.1.1%3A_Chelating_Ligands)/05%3A_Coordination_Chemistry/5.02%3A_Ligands_and_Nomenclature).
• Bidentate: These ligands have two donor atoms which can attach to a single metal cation or atom. A bidentate ligand forms one 5- or 6- membered ring with a metal ion_have_enhanced_metal_ion_affinity/3.1.1%3A_Chelating_Ligands).
• Tridentate: These ligands have three donor atoms which can attach to a single metal cation or atom_have_enhanced_metal_ion_affinity/3.1.1%3A_Chelating_Ligands).
• Tetradentate: These ligands have four donor atoms which can attach to a single metal cation or atom_have_enhanced_metal_ion_affinity/3.1.1%3A_Chelating_Ligands).
• Pentadentate: These ligands have five donor atoms which can attach to a single metal cation or atom_have_enhanced_metal_ion_affinity/3.1.1%3A_Chelating_Ligands).
• Hexadentate: These ligands have six donor atoms which can attach to a single metal cation or atom_have_enhanced_metal_ion_affinity/3.1.1%3A_Chelating_Ligands).

The denticity of a ligand is described with the Greek letter κ (kappa) [[2]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D...