A
Lewis acid with an acceptor centre of low
polarizability. Other things being approximately equal, complexes of hard acids and
bases or soft acids and bases have an added stabilization (sometimes called '
HSAB' rule). For example the hard O- (or N-) bases are preferred to their S- (or P-) analogues
by hard acids. Conversely a soft acid possesses an acceptor centre of high
polarizability and exhibits the reverse preference for
coordination of a
soft base. These preferences are not defined in a quantitative sense.
Source:
PAC, 1994, 66, 1077
(Glossary of terms used in physical organic chemistry (IUPAC Recommendations 1994))
on page 1120