Question

What is the orbital diagram of [CoCl6]3-? How many unpaired electrons are in it and is the spin high or low?

Answer 1

molecular orbital diagram?

Answer 2

The diagram with the up and down arrows. lol

Answer 3

haha so this one

Answer 4

yeah. lol.

Answer 5

Do you know how to do it?

Answer 6

so, if i remmeber correctly, weak field ligands cause low small splitting, right?

so the diagram should look like this;

Answer 7

So does that mean it's low spin?

Answer 8

yes

Answer 9

no wait, it's the opposite it's high spin

Answer 10

Are you sure it's not strong field low spin ligand

Answer 11

it's definitly a weak field ligand and i screwed up the diagram, there should be some unpaired electrons.

Answer 12

I'm not really sure how it works. But all of the examples I have show that kind of diagram as strong field.

Answer 13

oh ok. lol.

Answer 14

how many unpaired electrons?

Answer 15

so cobalt here is \(Co^{3+}\), so it's a \(d^6\)complex, so it should have 4 unpaired electrons.

(sorry i'm all over the place i haven't done this in like a year)

Answer 16

so it should look like this

Answer 17

So what changes if it were [Co(CO)6]3+?

Answer 18

CO is a strong field ligand which causes large splitting (meaning in terms of energy between the orbitals), and so it's low spin (because electrons can't be excited (easily) to the upper levels (large \(\Delta _O\)). Do it would look like this:

Answer 19

Thank you so much! You are always so helpful. :3

Answer 20

no problem at all! glad i could help :)