Which ligand is considered a strong field ligand according to the spectrochemica
Practice Questions
Q1
Which ligand is considered a strong field ligand according to the spectrochemical series?
H2O
Cl-
CN-
NH3
Questions & Step-by-Step Solutions
Which ligand is considered a strong field ligand according to the spectrochemical series?
Step 1: Understand what a ligand is. A ligand is a molecule or ion that can bond to a metal atom to form a complex.
Step 2: Learn about the spectrochemical series. This is a list that ranks ligands based on their ability to split the d-orbitals of the metal they are bonded to.
Step 3: Identify strong field ligands. Strong field ligands cause a large splitting of d-orbitals, which affects the color and magnetic properties of the complex.
Step 4: Recognize that CN- (cyanide) is at the top of the spectrochemical series, indicating it is a strong field ligand.
Step 5: Conclude that CN- (cyanide) is considered a strong field ligand because it causes significant splitting of d-orbitals.
