Normal sulphites of metals

Normal sulphites of metals were prepared by the reaction of metal salts with sodium metabisulphite, in aqueous acid solutions, to prevent the formation of basic sulphites. Visible spectra and magnetic moments show that the transition metal sulphites have distorted octahedral structures. The i.r. spectra showed that the sulphite groups act as O-bonded bridging ligands linking the metal atoms in polymeric chains.