04. Colour of transition metal complexes

What does degenerate mean?

d orbitals with equal energy

How many degenerate orbitals do elemental forms of transition metals have?

5

What are 5 of the orbitals for elemental forms of transition metals?

Degenerate d orbitals

Describe the electrons in degenerate d orbitals

They are at the ground state

What happens in the presence of a ligand?

d orbitals split - 3d orbitals are split into 2 higher and 3 lower energy

Describe the orbitals of a transition metal ion with no ligands

They have degenerate d orbitals

What happens as electrons are excited?

Light of a particular wavelength / frequency / energy is absorbed. Electrons are promoted from lower to higher orbitals. The colour seen is the complimentary colour