Ligand field theory
Molecular orbital theory applied to transition metal complexes / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dear Wikiwand AI, let's keep it short by simply answering these key questions:
Can you list the top facts and stats about Ligand field theory?
Summarize this article for a 10 year old
Ligand field theory (LFT) describes the bonding, orbital arrangement, and other characteristics of coordination complexes.[1][2][3] It represents an application of molecular orbital theory to transition metal complexes. A transition metal ion has nine valence atomic orbitals - consisting of five nd, one (n+1)s, and three (n+1)p orbitals. These orbitals have the appropriate energy to form bonding interactions with ligands. The LFT analysis is highly dependent on the geometry of the complex, but most explanations begin by describing octahedral complexes, where six ligands coordinate with the metal. Other complexes can be described with reference to crystal field theory.[4] Inverted ligand field theory (ILFT) elaborates on LFT by breaking assumptions made about relative metal and ligand orbital energies.