Chapter 20, Problem 20.110SP

Interpretation Introduction

Interpretation:

It should be explained that why weak-field ligands tend to form high-spin complexes but strong-field ligands tend to give low-spin complexes.

Concept Introduction:

Coordination compounds: The compounds having coordination covalent bonds which form when metal ions react with polar molecules or anions.

Ligands: The ions or molecules that forms coordination covalent bond with metal ions in a coordination compound. Ligands should have minimum one lone pair of electron, where it donates two electrons to the metal. Metal atom accepts the electron pair from a ligand forming a coordination bond.

A series of ligands which are arranged in a order of field strength is known as spectrochemical series. The ability of a ligand to split the energies of d-orbitals of metal ions is the field strength.

Spectrochemical series: The list of ligands arranged in an ascending order of $\text{(Δ)}$(the splitting of d-orbitals in presence of various ligands).

$\begin{array}{l}\stackrel{{}^{{\text{I}}^{\text{-}}\text{<}{\text{Br}}^{\text{-}}\text{<}{\text{SCN}}^{\text{-}}\text{<}{\text{Cl}}^{\text{-}}\text{<}{\text{S}}^{\text{2-}}\text{<}{\text{F}}^{\text{-}}\text{<}{\text{OH}}^{\text{-}}\text{<}{\text{O}}^{\text{2-}}\text{<}{\text{H}}_{\text{2}}\text{O}\text{<}{\text{NCS}}^{\text{-}}\text{<}{\text{edta}}^{\text{4-}}\text{<}{\text{NH}}_{\text{3}}\text{< en}\text{<}{\text{NO}}^{\text{2-}}\text{<}{\text{CN}}^{\text{-}}\text{<}\text{CO}}}{\to }\\ {}_{{}^{{}^{\begin{array}{l}\text{weak-field}\text{increasing(Δ)}\text{strong-field}\\ \text{ligands}\text{ligands}\end{array}}}}\end{array}$

Strong ligands produce high crystal field splitting and weak ligands produce small crystal field splitting. High spin complex ions have low crystal field splitting.