Challenge question: This question is worth 6 points. As you saw in problem 9 we can have species bound to a central metal ion. T

Question

2 months ago

7

Challenge question: This question is worth 6 points. As you saw in problem 9 we can have species bound to a central metal ion. T

hese species are called ligands. In the past we have assumed all the d orbitals in some species are degenerate; however, they often are not. Sometimes the ligands bound to a central metal cation can split the d orbitals. That is, some of the d orbitals will be at a lower energy state than others. Ligands that have the ability to cause this splitting are called strong field ligands, CN− is an example of these. If this splitting in the d orbitals is great enough electrons will fill low lying orbitals, pairing with other electrons in a given orbital, before filling higher energy orbitals. In question 7 we had Fe2+, furthermore we found that there were a certain number (non-zero) of unpaired electrons. Consider now Fe(CN)6 4−: here we also have Fe2+, but in this case all the electrons are paired, yielding a diamagnetic species. How can you explain this?

Chemistry

1 answer:

Alekssandra [3K] · Answer 1 · 2026-03-20T09:10:53+03:00

Alekssandra [3K]2 months ago

5 0

CN− serves as a potent field ligand.