Where do Electrons escape from ?
Fe ( CO ) 5 neutral counting : Fe contributes 8 electrons , each CO contributes 2 each : 8 + 2 (5) = 18 valence electrons ionic counting : Fe (0) contributes 8 electrons , each CO contributes 2 each : 8 + 2 (5) = 18 valence electrons conclusions : this is a special case , where ionic counting is the same as neutral counting , all fragments being neutral .