Coordination Chemistry II - Chapter 4

Bonding and Ligand Field Theory

Build orbital diagrams, predict spin states, and connect ligand types to splitting and spectra.

Ch 1: Nomenclature Ch 3: Isomerism

Session mode

Adaptive mode
Rigor mode

Focus

  • Crystal-field splitting and CFSE
  • High vs low spin decisions
  • Ligand types and MO effects
  • Spectrochemical series

Rules and cues

  • Octahedral splitting: t2g below eg; tetrahedral is inverted.
  • Strong-field ligands favor low spin, large Delta.
  • Square planar d8 often low spin with large splitting.
  • Use spectrochemical series to rank ligand strength.

Orbital splitting (octahedral)

Crystal field splitting and electron spin

Ligand field overview

Metal and ligand energy level matching

Spectrochemical series

Spectrochemical series with strong and weak field ligands

Tetrahedral field

Tetrahedral ligand field splitting

Square planar field

Square planar splitting diagram
Orbital Builder d6 octahedral

[Fe(H2O)6]2+

Place electrons and identify high/low spin.

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