Question

How can chemists follow the uptake of carbon monoxide?

Answer 1

What are you asking?

Explanation:

Carbon monoxide is an actual molecular species. While I would not want to inhale it, we could actually isolate it, and use it in reaction chemistry....

Typically we represent the Lewis structure as...`""^(-):C-=O:^(+)`, with formal charge separation....such a Lewis structure can rationalize the coordination behaviour of carbon monoxide, which typically binds thru the carbon to the metal centre.

Synthetic chemists often use isotopically labelled `""^(13)C-=O`, the which offers a powerful means of analysis when we examine the labelled complex with `""^13C{""^(1)H}` `"NMR spectroscopy."` The chemistry of carbon monoxide as a so-called `pi-"acid"` towards transition metal centres is very mature.