Nomenclature
To describe EDTA and its various protonated forms, chemists distinguish between EDTA4−, the conjugate base that is the ligand, and H4EDTA, the precursor to that ligand. At very low pH (very acidic conditions) the fully protonated H6EDTA2+ form predominates, whereas at very high pH or very basic condition, the fully deprotonated Y4− form is prevalent. In this article, the term EDTA is used to mean H4-xEDTAx-, whereas in its complexes EDTA4- stands for the tetra-deprotonated ligand.
Read more about this topic: Ethylenediaminetetraacetic Acid