The two compounds which form the basis of this article are versatile Lewis bases which coordinate to a variety of metal ions in sometimes unpredictable ways. Table 1 illustrates the structures of the two ligands, their IUPAC and common names, and the abbreviations by which they are known. Both compounds are white solids under ambient conditions, and both are readily available from commercial chemical companies. The IR spectrum of each ligand has been studied thoroughly and the molecular structure of each compound has been determined by x-ray crystallography.