• Case Studiesv
  • Case Study: Contrasting Earth, Mars and the Moon's Atmospheres
  • Case Study: Elemental Toxicity in Animals
  • Case Study: The Natural Abundance of Elements in the Earth & Universe
  • Case Study: Water Treatment
• Coordination Chemistryv
  • Basics of Coordination Chemistry
  • Complex Ion Equilibria
  • Coordination Numbers
  • Isomers
  • Ligands
• Crystal Field Theoryv
  • Colors of Coordination Complexes
  • Crystal Field Theory
  • High Spin and Low Spin Complexes
  • Metals, Tetrahedral and Octahedral
  • Tanabe-Sugano Diagrams
  • Virtual: Electronic Structure
• Descriptive Chemistryv
  • Compounds
  • Introduction to Elements
  • Main Group Elements
  • Periodic Table of the Elements
  • Transition Metals and Coordination Complexes
• Electronic Configurationsv
  • Aufbau Principle
  • Electron Configuration of Transition Metals and Ions: Mn vs. Cu
  • Hund's Rules
  • Pauli Exclusion Principle
  • Spin Pairing Energy
• Latticesv
  • Lattice Energy: The Born-Haber cycle
  • Schottky Defect
  • The Born-Lande' equation
• Ligand Field Theoryv
  • Ligand Field Theory Fundamentals
  • Virtual: Ligand Field Theory
• Molecular Geometryv
  • Bent Molecular Geometry
  • Case Studies
  • Limitations of VSEPR
  • Linear Molecular Geometry
  • Octahedral
  • Square Planar
  • Square Pyramidal
  • Tetrahedral Molecular Geometry
  • Trigonal Planar Molecular Geometry
  • Trigonal Pyramid Molecular Geometry
  • T-shaped
  • Virtual: Isomerization
  • VSEPR
• Organometallic Chemistryv
  • Fundamentals
  • Introduction to Organometallic Chemistry
  • Ligands
  • Structural Fundamentals
• Reactions in Aqueous Solutionsv
  • Precipitation Reactions
  • Unique Features of Aqueous Solutions

Crystal Field Theory (CFT) was developed by physicists Hans Bethe and John Hasbrouck van Vleck in the 1930s. CFT describes the interaction between d orbital electrons of a transition metal with the electrons of ligands that are coming together to form coordination complexes. The d orbital electrons act in a unique way by either gaining or losing energy when repulsed by an oncoming electron from a ligand. CFT theory provides an explanation for this energy difference in the d orbital and thereby successfully accounts for some magnetic properties, colors, hydration enthalpies, and spinel structures of transition metal complexes. CFT was subsequently combined with molecular orbital theory to form the more realistic and complex ligand field theory (LFT), which delivers insight into the process of chemical bonding in transition metal complexes.

This page viewed 9198 times
The ChemWiki has 9285 Modules.

   UC Davis ChemWiki by University of California, Davis is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.  Tweet

Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at copyright@ucdavis.edu. Terms of Use

Powered by Mindtouch Core 2010