The reactivity and stereochemistry of coordination compounds is not solely due to the atoms bonded to the metal but is often controlled by intermolecular nonbonded repulsions between parts of the ligands that are remote from the metal center and not directly bonded to it. These "non-bonds" can lead to inertness by blocking a reaction pathway or to decomposition to relieve compression, and can dictate the stereochemistry of the compound both in solution and in the solid state.