SRM INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE &

TECHNOLOGY

Name- Rittika Mitra

Branch- CSE
Section- I
Subject- Chemistry
Subject code- 21CYB101J
Registration number-RA2211003030152
QUES. What do you mean by Ligands? Write down types of ligands with
examples.
A ligand is an ion or molecule, which donates a pair of electrons to the central metal atom or ion
to form a coordination complex. The word ligand is from Latin, which means “tie or bind”.
Ligands can be anions, cations, and neutral molecules. Ligands act as Lewis bases (donate
electron pairs) and central metal atoms viewed as Lewis acid (electron pair acceptor). The nature
of bonding between metal to ligand varies from covalent bond to ionic bond.
Occasionally ligands can be cations (NO+, N2H5+) and electron-pair acceptors. Examples for
anionic ligands are F–, Cl–, Br–, I–, S2–, CN–, NCS–, OH–, NH2– and neutral ligands are NH3, H2O,
NO, CO.
A ligand is an ion or molecule, which binds to the central metal atom to form a coordination
entity or complex compounds. Classification of ligands is on the basis of the number of binding
sites with the central metal atom, charge and size.

Ques. Point out the assumptions of Crystal Field Theory (CFT).

A major feature of transition metals is their tendency to form complexes. A complex may be
considered as consisting of a central metal atom or ion surrounded by a number of ligands. The
interaction between these ligands with the central metal atom or ion is subject to crystal field
theory.
Crystal field theory was established in 1929 and treats the interaction of metal ion and ligand as a
purely electrostatic phenomenon where the ligands are considered as point charges in the vicinity
of the atomic orbitals of the central atom. Development and extension of crystal field theory
taken into account the partly covalent nature of bonds between the ligand and metal atom mainly
through the application of molecular orbital theory. Crystal field theory is often termed ligand
field theory.
Crystal field theory was proposed which described the metal-ligand bond as an ionic bond
arising purely from the electrostatic interactions between the metal ions and ligands. Crystal field
theory considers anions as point charges and neutral molecules as dipoles.
When transition metals are not bonded to any ligand, their d orbitals degenerate that is they have
the same energy. When they start bonding with other ligands, due to different symmetries of the
d orbitals and the inductive effect of the ligands on the electrons, the d orbitals split apart and
become non-degenerate.
Example: [Co(CN)6]3- & [CoF6]3-
  n the case of an octahedral coordination compound having six ligands surrounding the
metal atom/ion, we observe repulsion between the electrons in d orbitals and ligand
electrons.
 This repulsion is experienced more in the case of dx2-y2 and dz2 orbitals as they point
towards the axes along the direction of the ligand.
 Hence, they have higher energy than average energy in the spherical crystal field.
 On the other hand, dxy, dyz, and dxz orbitals experience lower repulsions as they are
directed between the axes.
 Hence, these three orbitals have less energy than the average energy in the spherical
crystal field.
Thus, the repulsions in octahedral coordination compound yield two energy levels:
 t2g– set of three orbitals (dxy, dyz and dxz) with lower energy
 eg – set of two orbitals (dx2-y2 and dz2) with higher energy
Ques. What do you mean by CFSE? Calculate the CFSE for d1 to d10
metal ion complexes for high spin as well as low-spin configurations in
octahedral field.
A consequence of Crystal Field Theory is that the distribution of electrons in
the d orbitals may lead to net stabilization (decrease in energy) of some
complexes depending on the specific ligand field geometry and metal d-electron
configurations. It is a simple matter to calculate this stabilization since all that is
needed is the electron configuration and knowledge of the splitting patterns
The CSFE will depend on multiple factors including:
 Geometry (which changes the d-orbital splitting patterns)
 Number of d-electrons
 Spin Pairing Energy
 Ligand character (via Spectrochemical Series)
Ques. Illustrate the differences between crystal field splitting in octahedral and
tetrahedral ligand fields with the help of a diagram.
The Crystal Field Stabilization Energy (CFSE) is the additional stabilization
gained by the splitting of the orbitals according to the crystal field theory,
against the energy of the original five degenerate d orbitals. So, for
example, in a d situation such as [Ti(OH ) ] , putting the electron into one
1
2 6
3+

of the orbitals of the t level gains -0.4 Δ of CFSE. Generally speaking,

2g o

octahedral complexes will be favored over tetrahedral ones because:

 It is more (energetically) favorable to form six bonds rather than four
 The CFSE is usually greater for octahedral than tetrahedral
complexes. Remember that Δ is bigger than Δ (in fact, Δ is
o tet tet

approximately 4/9 Δ ). o

If we make the assumption that Δ = 4/9 Δ , we can calculate the

tet o

difference in stabilization energy between octahedral and tetrahedral

geometries by referencing everything in terms of Δ . o