There are several types of chelating agents

The types of action of chelating agents can be mainly divided into the following:

Metal ion capture and sealing: Chelating agents can form stable coordination bonds with metal ions, thereby capturing and sealing metal ions in coordination compounds, avoiding adverse reactions or precipitation with other substances. This effect is common in the fields of water treatment, environmental science, and medicine.

Metal ion stability: Chelating agents can improve the stability of metal ions by forming complexes with them, preventing them from precipitation, oxidation, or other reactions in solution. This effect is commonly found in fields such as drug formulations and metal catalyzed reactions.

Selective recognition of metal ions: Some chelating agents have the ability to recognize specific metal ions and can selectively form stable coordination compounds with target metal ions. This effect is commonly found in fields such as analytical chemistry, sensors, and metal ion detection.

Metal ion separation and extraction: Chelating agents can achieve the separation and extraction of metal ions through selective coordination reactions with various metal ions. This effect has important applications in metal extraction, wastewater treatment, and resource recovery.

Overall, chelating agents play different types of roles by forming stable coordination bonds with metal ions, including metal ion capture and sealing, stabilizing metal ions, selective recognition of metal ions, and separation and extraction of metal ions.