The term is commonly applied in the field of inorganic chemistry, where diverse structures are observed.
The coordination geometry depends on the number, not the type, of ligands bonded to the metal centre as well as their locations.
In metals with the face centred cubic (fcc) structure each atom has twelve nearest neighbours in a cuboctahedral geometry.
[9] IUCr have proposed a symbol which is shown as a superscript in square brackets in the chemical formula.
[1] The IUPAC symbol is applicable to complexes and molecules whereas the IUCr proposal applies to crystalline solids.