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In molecular physics, crystal field theory (CFT) describes the breaking of degeneracies of electron orbital states, usually d or f orbitals, due to a static electric field produced by a surrounding charge distribution (anion neighbors).
Learn about crystal field theory, which describes the interaction of d orbitals of a transition metal ion with ligands. Find out how crystal field splitting, high spin and low spin, and crystal field stabilization energy affect the properties of complexes.
- 3 min
Page ID. Crystal field theory (CFT) describes the breaking of orbital degeneracy in transition metal complexes due to the presence of ligands. CFT qualitatively describes the strength of the metal-ligand bonds. Based on the strength of the metal-ligand bonds, the energy of the system is altered.
Crystal field theory, which assumes that metal–ligand interactions are only electrostatic in nature, explains many important properties of transition-metal complexes, including their colors, magnetism, structures, stability, and reactivity.
Learn how the interaction between d-orbitals of transition metal ions and ligand fields affects the electronic structure and properties of coordination complexes. Explore the concepts of high spin and low spin configurations, crystal field splitting, and crystal field stabilization energy with examples and applications.
In this section, we describe crystal field theory (CFT), a bonding model that explains many important properties of transition-metal complexes, including their colors, magnetism, structures, stability, and reactivity.
Crystal field theory was developed to explain the special features of transition metal complexes, including their beautiful colors and their magnetic properties.
