Why Are Octahedral Complexes the Most Common in Crystal Field Theory?

Click For Summary
Octahedral complexes are frequently discussed in Crystal Field Theory (CFT) due to their pedagogical simplicity, not necessarily because they are the most common in nature. The discussion highlights that while octahedral complexes involve six ligands and five d orbitals, CFT does not fully explain their formation or the bonding interactions between the central metal and ligands. The confusion arises from the electron pairing and energy configurations in these complexes. Ligand field theory expands on CFT by considering these bonding aspects, providing a more comprehensive understanding. Ultimately, octahedral arrangements are prevalent in educational contexts, but the reasons for their commonality require deeper exploration beyond basic CFT.
MathewsMD
Messages
430
Reaction score
7
I have recently been learning CTF and energy differences and orbital splitting is starting to make sense to me a bit more. I have not seen any definitive answers yet so any help would be great. In CTF, octahedral complexes are most common and there are 5 d orbitals that participate. Whether it is a high energy or low energy configuration, I don't quite understand how there are 6 attracted (bonded?) ligands to the central metal. There is electron pairing occurring and I am just confused why an octahedral arrangement is the most common in this case. Why not an arrangement with less ligands since that would result in less repulsion?

Any insight is greatly appreciated!
 
Physics news on Phys.org
any help please?
 
It is not that octahedral complexes are most common, but that these are easierst to discuss within CFT and thus dominate pedagogic introductions on CFT.
 
Ok, octahedral complexes are in deed very common. However, CFT does not explain why and when octahedral complexes are formed as it does not consider the bonding between the central metal and the ligands.
This is a theme of ligand field theory.
 

Thread 'Does acceleration affect impact energy vs constant velocity?'

I do not have a good working knowledge of physics yet. I tried to piece this together but after researching this, I couldn’t figure out the correct laws of physics to combine to develop a formula to answer this question. Ex. 1 - A moving object impacts a static object at a constant velocity. Ex. 2 - A moving object impacts a static object at the same velocity but is accelerating at the moment of impact. Assuming the mass of the objects is the same and the velocity at the moment of impact...
View full post »

Similar threads

Explanation of the spectrochemical series of transition metal ions
  • · Replies 6 ·
Replies
6
Views
6K
Tetrahedral and square planar crystal fields?
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
4K
Why are some d-electron configurations more stable? (1st row)
  • · Replies 4 ·
Replies
4
Views
2K
Lanthanide Crystal Field Splitting Energies
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
3K
Crystal Field Model: True/False Questions for Octahedral Complex Ions
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
6K
Why Do Fe(II) Complexes Exhibit Unexpected Colors?
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
3K
How we see things, relating to Crystal field theory.
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
2K
Ligand field theory and f orbitals in magnetism
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
3K
Undergrad Why Is Crystal-Field Splitting Different for f-Orbitals Compared to d-Orbitals?
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
3K
How is the Electron Configuration of Central Atoms in Complex Salts Determined?
  • · Replies 12 ·
Replies
12
Views
2K