The principle of additive nomenclature is followed while naming the coordination compounds.
The following rules are used
(i) The cation is named first in both positively and negatively charged coordination entities.
(ii) The ligands are named in an alphabetical order before the name of the central atom/ion.
(iii) The name of the anionic ligands end in –o, those of neutral and cationic ligands are the same except aqua for H2O, ammine for NH3, carbonyl for CO and nitrosyl for NO. these are placed within enclosing marks .
(iv) When the prefixes mono, di, tri, etc., are used to indicate the number of the individual ligands in the coordination entity. When the names of the ligands include a numerical prefix, then the terms, bis, tris , tetrakis are used, the ligand to which they refer being placed in parenthesis.
(v) Oxidation state of the metal in cation, anion, or neutral coordination entity is indicated by roman numeral in parenthesis.
(vi) If the complex ion is a cation , the metal is same as the element.
(vii) The neutral complex molecule is named similar to that of the complex cation.