Crystal Field Theory

By

Dr. Sutanuva Mandal

Assistant Professor
Department of Chemistry
Banwarilal Bhalotia College
Asansol - 713303
Origin & History:

❖ Advanced by Bethe and Van Velck and originally applied to explain the colour and
magnetic properties of some ionic crystal.

❖ It is a hypothetical model where ligands are considered as point –ve charge (for
negatively charged ligand) and dipoles (for neutral molecule) where as metals are
considered as point +ve charge.

❖ Electric field generated by the ligands influences the distribution of electrons in the
metal ions i.e. d-orbital splitting.

❖ \The bonding between the metal cation and the ligand is believed to be due to
electrostatic attraction between the nucleus of the metal ion and the negative or
partial negative charge invariably present on the ligands.

Metal-Ligand Bonding: 2
 Energetics:

Electrostatic interaction between metal ion and donor atom of ligand:

Steps involved are:

1) Metals and ligands orbitals initially have high

energy when they are separated.

2) Metal –ligand orbitals get stabilized due to

electrostatic interaction

3) Next destabilization happens due to ligand-d

electron repulsion

4) Finally results splitting of metal 5, d-orbitals.

5) Depending upon the number (4 or 6) of

attached ligand metal ion gives different
geometry and consequently d-orbitals are not
affected equally by the ligand field.
3
The Octahedral Crystal Field:

Consider metal ion, Mm+, lying at the centre of an octahedral set of point charges.

z
y z

x
- y
- -
n+
L Mn+
L L - -
M - x

L L

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Approach of six ligands to a metal ion in Octahedral Field

5
Splitting of five d-orbitals in Octahedral Ligand Field:

❖ The electrostatic repulsion between the ligands and the electrons of the central metal
atom or ion will be much greater when the electrons are housed in eg set of orbitals
(dx2-y2- and dz2 orbitals) which are directly points towards the ligands.

❖ Electrons are housed in the t2g set of orbitals (dxy, dxz, dyz orbitals) experienced
comparatively less repulsive interaction as they are directed in between the
Cartesian coordinate axes.

❖ The energy difference between the eg and t2g set of orbitals is measured in terms of
crystal field splitting parameter,Δo or 10 Dq.

4(eg electrons) × 0.6 Δo = 2.4 Δo

6(t2g electrons) × (-0.4) Δo = -2.4 Δo
………………………………………………………….
Total Energy = 0,

❖ So total energy is conserved.

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Energetics:

7
Continued….

t2g : dxy , dyz , dzx

eg : dz2 , dx2- y2

❖ For strong ligand field: crystal field splitting high; Δ(oct) > Pairing Energy (P);
results low spin metal complexes

❖ For weak ligand field: crystal field splitting low; Δ(oct) < Pairing Energy (P);
results high spin metal complexes
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Factors Affecting the Magnitude of Δ

1. Higher oxidation states of the metal atom correspond to larger Δ.

Δ =10,200 cm-1 for [CoII(NH3)6]2+ and 22,870 cm-1 for [CoIII(NH3)6]3+

Δ =32,200 cm-1 for [FeII(CN)6]4- and 35,000 cm-1 for [FeIII(CN)6]3-

2. In groups, heavier analogues have larger Δ.

For hexaammine complexes [MIII(NH3)6]3+:

Δ = 22,870 cm-1 (C o )
34,100 cm-1 (Rh)
41,200 cm-1 (Ir)

3. Geometry of the metal coordination unit affects Δ greatly.

Tetrahedral complexes ML4 have smaller Δ than octahedral ones ML6:

Δ = 10,200 cm-1 for [CoII(NH3)6]2+ 5,900 cm-1 for [CoII(NH3)4]2+

4. Nature of the ligands.

For [CoIIIL6] Δ in cm-1: 13,100 (F-); 20,760 (H2O); 22,870 (NH3),

For [CrIIIL6], Δ in cm-1: 15,060 (F-); 17,400 (H2O); 26,600 (CN-)
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Electronic configuration of some n+ dn metal cations in octahedral
complexes

Valence Unpaired Electron Spin

Complex configuration
electrons electrons configuration

Ti(H2O)63+ 3d1 1 (t2g)1 ()1

Cr(H2O)63+ 3d3 3 (t2g)3 ()3
Fe(H2O)63+ 3d5 5 (t2g)3(eg)2 ( ) )
Fe(CN)63- 3d5 1 (t2g)5 ()5
Fe(H2O)62+ 3d6 4 (t2g)4(eg)2 ()4()2
Fe(CN)62- 3d6 0 (t2g)6 ()6
Ni(H2O)62+ 3d8 2 (t2g)6(eg)2 ()6()2
Cu(H2O)62+ 3d9 1 (t2g)6(eg)3 ()6()3
Zn(H2O)62+ 3d10 0 (t2g)6(eg)4 ()6()4

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The Spectrochemical Series:
❖ The common ligands can be arranged in order of their increasing field strength
(i.e., splitting power) in a series called the Spectrohemical Series.
❖ This order remains practically constant for different metals in the spectrochemical
series.
I- < Br- < S2-<Cl-<NO3-<F-<HO-<EtOH<Oxalate< H2O<EDTA<NH3 & Py<
ethlenediammine<dipyridine<O-phenanthroline<NO2-<CN-<CO

Strong Field Ligand Weak Field Ligand

❖ Ligand that give rise to high energy transition (such as CO) is referred to as a
strong-field ligand; low energy transitions (such as Br-) referred to as weak-field
ligand. 11
Distribution of Electrons in an Octahedral Complex

High-spin CFSE Low-spin CFSE

d1 t2g1 eg0 -0.4 Δ o t2g1eg0 -0.4 Δ o
d2 t2g2 eg0 -0.8 Δ o t2g2eg0 -0.8 Δ o
d3 t2g3 eg0 -1.2 Δ o t2g3eg0 -1.2 Δ o
d4 t2g3eg1 -0.6 Δ o t2g4eg0 -1.6 Δ o
d5 t2g3eg2 0.0 Δ o t2g5eg0 -2.0 Δ o
d6 t2g4eg2 -0.4 Δ o t2g6eg0 -2.4 Δ o
d7 t2g5eg2 -0.8 Δ o t2g6eg1 -1.8 Δ o
d8 t2g6eg2 -1.2 Δ o t2g6eg2 -1.2 Δ o
d9 t2g6eg3 -0.6 Δ o t2g6eg3 -0.6 Δ o
d10 t2g6eg4 -0.0 Δ o t2g6eg4 0.0 Δ o

Net energy decrease is called crystal field stabilization energy (CFSE).

❖ There are two possibilities for metal ions having d4-d7 electronic configuration.
Depending upon nature of the ligands and the metal ions they could be high-spin or
low spin complexes. Weaker ligands tend to give high-spin complexes, whereas
stronger ligands tend to give low-spin complexes.
❖ In all electronic configurations involving two electrons in the same orbital, the actual
CFSE is reduced by the energy spent on pairing the electrons (i.e. Pairing Energy, P ).
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Crystal Field Splitting of d orbitals: high spin and low spin situations for a
d6 metal

Ligand strength: (Weak) I- < F- < H2O < NH3 < CN- (Strong)

Net unpaired
Case I: Low spin spins = 0:
Diamagnetic
Large splitting
Energy gap larger than
advantage due to Hund’s
rule

Case II: High spin Net unpaired

spins = 4:
Small splitting
Strongly paramagnetic

Energy gap small;

Hund’s rule applies
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 CF Splitting: Tetrahedral Field

❖ Suppose a tetrahedral molecule is present inside the cube and metal ion is seated at the
center of the cube. The ligands occupy the four alternate corners of the cube leaving the
rest four corners empty.

❖ It has no center of symmetry. So there is no question of mentioning ‘g’ or ‘u’ terms.

❖ The two ‘e’ (dx2-y2 and dz2) orbitals point to the center of the face of the cube while the
three ‘t2’ (dxy, dyz and dzx) orbitals point to the center of the edges of the cube.

❖ Thus, the t2 orbitals are nearer to the direction of approach of the ligands than the e
orbitals. (The ligands do not directly approach any of the metal d orbitals)
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 Continued……
❖ Tetrahedral complexes are high spin:

▪ There are only 4 ligands in the tetrahedral complex and hence the ligand field is roughly
2/3 of the octahedral field.

▪ The direction of ligand approach in tetrahedral complex does not coincide with the d-
orbitals. This reduces the field by a factor of 2/3. Therefore Δt is roughly 2/3 × 2/3 = 4/9
of Δo.

▪ As a result, all tetrahedral complexes are high-spin since the Δt is normally smaller than
the paring energy (P). Hence, low spin configurations are rarely observed. Usually, if a
very strong field ligand is present, square planar geometry will be favored.

❖ When do we expect tetrahedral geometry?

▪ Small metal ions and large ligands (Cl-, Br- and I-) because then ligand-ligand repulsions
cancel the energy advantage of forming more metal-ligand bonds.

▪ Metal ions with zero CFSE (d0, d5, d10) or small CFSE (d2 and d7).

Examples: MnO4- (d0), FeCl4- (d5, h.s.), CoCl42- (d7, h.s.), ZnCl42- (d10)
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15
Distribution of Electrons in a Tetrahedral Complex

❖ Tetrahedral splitting is seldom large enough to result in pairing of the

electrons. As a result, low-spin tetrahedral complexes are not common. A rare
example is Cr[N(SiMe3)2]3[NO].

Electronic
CFSE
configuration
d1 e1t2 -0.6 Δt
d2 e2t2 -1.2 Δt
d3 e2t21 -0.8 Δt
d4 e2t22 -0.4 Δt
d5 e2t23 0.0 Δt
d6 e3t23 -0.6 Δt
d7 e4t23 -1.2 Δt
d8 e4t24 -0.8 Δt
d9 e4t25 -0.4 Δt
d10 e4t26 0.0 Δt

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 CF Splitting: Square Planar Field
dx2-y2
dx2-y2,
dz2 X

dxy

dz2
d-orbitals

❖ Ligands along the Z axis

are removed from an
Energy dxy, dxz, dyz octahedral complex to get
a square planar complex.
Octahedral Field dxz, dyz
Square Planar Field 17
When to Expect Square Planar Geometry .

❖ In the case of d8 metals and strong ligands:

Ni2+, in the presence of strong field ligands such as CN- forms a square planar
complex.

❖ 2nd and 3rd row d8 metals form square planar geometry irrespective of the nature
of the ligand:
With Pd2+ (which already generates a strong field) even a weak field ligand such as
Cl- leads to the formation of a square planar complex, for example, [PdCl4]2- .

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CF Splitting: Octahedral Vs. Tetrahedral Vs. Square Planar

19
 Applications of Crystal Field Theory: Ionic Radii

○ high spin
● low spin

?
?
●
●
Ionic radii of M2+ in MCl2

❖ For a given oxidation state, the ionic radius is expected to decrease continuously across a
transition series. Deviations from the expected line can be attributed to different
electronic configurations (resulting from crystal field splitting).

❖ For weak field case, ionic radius starts to increase with t2g3eg1 configuration as the
electron in the eg level experience repulsion with the ligands. For strong field case,
ionic radius starts to increase with t2g6eg1 configuration.

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 Applications of Crystal Field Theory: Lattice Energy

MF2 of first row transition metals

❖ The lattice energy is expected to increase continuously across the transition series as the
ionic radii of the metals decrease (lattice energy is proportional to 1/(r+ + r-). Deviations from
expected line can be attributed to CFSE.

❖ Ca2+, Mn2+ and Zn2+ have d0, d5 and d10, thus CFSE is 0. They follow the expected line. Other
metal ions deviate from the expected line due to extra CFSE. CFSE increases from d1 to d3,
decreases again to d5, then rises to d8.
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Applications of Crystal Field Theory: Enthalpy of Hydration/Formation

M2+(g) + 6 H2O(l) =
[M(H2O)6]2+(aq)

❖ Stronger electrostatic attraction energy between ions and water dipoles increases
hydration enthalpy (ΔH). ΔH is proportional to the charge but inversely proportional
to the radius of the ion. ΔH should increase (become more negative) continuously across
transition series due to decrease in ionic radii. But, experimental ΔH values show
characteristic double-humped shape.

❖ The trend for hydration enthalpies corresponds with the one for the ionic radii.
Applications of Crystal Field Theory: Geometry of Spinel

❖ The spinel is a MIXED METAL OXIDE with a general formula (A2+)(2B3+)(O2-)4. ‘A’
is a bivalent Gr II or a bivalent transition metal and ‘B’ is a trivalent Gr III metal or a
trivalent transition metal.

❖ Close packing of oxide ion (weak field ligand) provides a cubic lattice containing both
tetrahedral and octahedral holes.

❖ In normal spinel B(III) ion occupy octahedral holes whereas in case of inverted spinel
A(II) ion occupy the octahedral holes and half of the B(III) ion occupy the tetrahedral
holes.

❖ The difference in CFSE for a dn system in octahedral and tetrahedral geometry is called
Octahedral Site Stabilization Energy (OSSE).

How does CFT help us

So understand this structure?
 Spinel structures and CFT
Normal Spinal Structure.
Spinel: MgAl2O4
Both Mg(II) and Al(III) are d0 system. So there will be no spatial preference on CFSE
ground.
So, M2+ ion occupy tetrahedral holes and M3+ ion occupy octahedral holes.
Inverse Spinal Structure.
Example: Magnetite: (Fe3+)T(Fe2+,Fe3+)O(O2-)4
Fe3O4 (Fe2+, 2Fe3+, 2O2-)
Note the O2- is a weak field ligand. (Fe is H.S.)
What are the electron configurations of the Fe ions? Fe3+is d5 and Fe2+ is d6.
dx2-y2, dz2
eg Tetrahedral Field dxy, dyz, dxz
Octahedral Field
3/5 o
o 2/5 T
OR
2/5 o T
t2g 3/5 T
dxy, dyz, dxz
dx2-y2, dz2
eg
Fe (II): CFSE(Oh)=-4 Dq
Fe(III): CFSE (Oh) = 0 Dq Inverse Spinal
Mn3O4 Spinel Structure:

Mn(II) d5 system CFSE = 0 for both Oh and Td field under weak field.
Mn (III) d4 system CFSE = -0.6 Dq (Oh) and -0.4 Δt.

Inverted Spinel Structure

Co3O4 Spinel Structure:

Co(II) d7 system CFSE = -0.8 Δo (Oh) and -1.2 Δt (Td)

Co(III) d6 system CFSE = -0.4 Dq (Oh) and -0.6 Δt. (Td)
CFSE (d6, low spin) = -24 Dq

❖ Because of very high CFSE of d6 system in low spin situation, instead of having
high spin environment provided by oxide ions Co(III) adopts low spin and occupy
octahedral holes Spinel Structure.

Result : Normal Spinel Structure.

 Jahn-Teller Effect & CFT

❖ Theorem: In a nonlinear molecule, if degenerate orbitals are asymmetrically

occupied, a distortion will occur to remove the degeneracy by lowering the symmetry
and thus by lowering the energy.

❖ The theorem predicts which configurations will show distortions.

❖ Octahedral complexes that are susceptible to Jahn-Teller distortions have degeneracy

either in t2g or eg set of orbitals. The effect is most pronounced when degeneracy
occurs in the eg than the t2g set of orbitals, because eg orbitals are pointing directly at
the ligands. Hence, complexes with eg1 or eg3 configurations (high spin d4, low spin d7
and d9) will show significant distortions.

4
Types of Jahn-Teller Distortions
❖ Axial Elongation (z-out distortion): Occurs when the degeneracy is broken by the
stabilization (lowering in energy) of the d orbitals with a z-component, while the orbitals
without a z-component are destabilized (higher in energy).

❖ Axial Compression (z-in distortion): Occurs when the degeneracy is broken by the
stabilization (lowering in energy) of the d orbitals without a z-component, while the
orbitals with a z-component are destabilized (higher in energy).

❖ The theorem can not predict the type of distortion occurs (z-out vs. z-in). However,
because axial elongation weakens two bonds but equatorial elongation weakens four, axial
elongation (z-out) is more common than axial compression (z-in).

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 Jahn-Teller Effect: Energy Level Splitting Patterns

❖ It is not possible to predict the magnitude of these splittings because the extent of
distortions can not be predicted. However, we can say that the splitting of the eg orbitals
will be significantly larger than that of the t2g orbitals because t2g orbitals in an octahedral
complex do not point directly at the ligands.

❖ Since none of the d orbitals in a tetrahedral complex point directly at the ligands, the
distortion is too small and thus it is not measurable.
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 Jahn-Teller Effect: Explanation
❖ If one or three electrons occupy the eg orbitals (as in high-spin d4, low-spin d7 and d9
complexes) a tetragonal distortion may be energetically advantageous.

❖ For example, in a high spin d4 ion (t2g3eg1), if the last electron occupies dz2 orbital, most
of the electron density will be concentrated between the cation and the two ligands on
the z axis. Thus, there will be greater electrostatic repulsion associated with these ligands
than with the other four ligands and the complex suffers elongation. Conversely, if the
last electron occupies dx2-y2 orbital, elongation will occur along x and y axes. Similar
situations will arise for a low spin d7 ion (t2g6eg1).

❖ Another example: for the d9 configuration, two orbitals in the eg set are occupied by one
and two electrons, respectively. If two electrons occupies dz2 orbital and the third
electron occupies dx2-y2 orbital, most of the electron density will be concentrated between
the cation and the two ligands on the z axis. Thus, there will be greater electrostatic
repulsion associated with these ligands than with the other four ligands and the complex
suffers elongation. Conversely, if two electrons occupies dx2-y2 orbital and the third
electron occupies dz2 orbital, elongation will occur along x and y axes.

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Jahn-Teller Effect: Experimental Evidences

❖ X-ray Crystallography: In X-ray crystal structures, octahedral

complexes having large distortions show different axial and equatorial
bond lengths. For CuF2, two axial bonds are elongated and four shorter
equatorial bonds are the same length with each other.

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The Origin of Colour : ABSORPTION

Artists wheel showing the colours which are complementary to one another.

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 Continued……..

Condition of absorption:
0, (the crystal field splitting parameter)
equals the energy of a photon:
0 = h = E
h =

As 0, varies, h will also vary and

consequently the color of the metal
complexes will also change.
Electron jumps from a t2g to an eg orbital
due to absorption of a photon.
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33
Range of Colour:

The colour of the complexes depends on the following factors:

• Charge on the metal ion
• Ligand
Measurement of Magnetic Moment:

The spin-only magnetic moment, μ, of a complex with total spin quantum number
is given by:

𝜇 = 𝑆 𝑆 + 1 𝜇𝐵 μB = Bohr magneton

Used to determine the number of unpaired spins in a complex, hence identify its
ground-state configuration.
Compounds are classified as diamagnetic if they are repelled by a magnetic field
and paramagnetic if they are accepted by a magnetic field.

CHEM210/Chapter 5/2014/18
CALCULATED SPIN-ONLY MAGNETIC MOMENTS

ION N S μ/μB
CALC. EXPT.
Ti3+ 1 ½ 1.73 1.7-1.8
V3+ 2 1 2.83 2.7-2.9
Cr3+ 3 1½ 3.87 3.8
Mn3+ 4 2 4.90 4.8-4.9
Fe3+ 5 2½ 5.92 5.9
Examples:
The magnetic moment of a certain Co(II) complex is 4.0 μB . What is its d- electron
configuration?
Solution:

A Co(II) complex is d 7.

Two possible configurations: t2g5eg2 (high-spin, S = 1½) with 3 unpaired electrons or

t2g6eg1 (Low-spin, S = ½) with 1 unpaired electron.

The spin-only magnetic moments are 3.87 μB and 1.73 μB.

Therefore, the only consistent assignment is the high-spin configuration t2g5eg2.

Exercise:
The magnetic moment of the complex [Mn(NCS)6]4- is 6.06 μB. What is its electron
configuration?

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 Summary:

❖ Crystal field Theory provides a basis for explaining many

properties of metal complexes like:
i) colour of the metal complexes
and ii) magnetic properties.

❖ Spectrochemical Series also provides a good explanation of the

origin of colour.

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Thank
You

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