Which sequence correctly arranges the common ligands in increasing order of crystal field splitting strength according to the spectrochemical series?
Answer and explanation
Correct answer: C. I- < Cl- < F- < H2O < NH3 < CN- < CO
- Step 1: The spectrochemical series is an experimentally determined ordering of ligands based on their ability to split d-orbital energies (magnitude of ).
- Step 2: Halide ions are weak-field -donors and lie at the bottom: .
- Step 3: Oxygen-donor ligands follow (), followed by nitrogen-donors ().
- Step 4: Strong -acceptor ligands lie at the top: .
- Step 5: The correct increasing sequence is .
Answer
I- < Cl- < F- < H2O < NH3 < CN- < CO
Why not the others: 'CO < CN- < NH3...' completely inverts the spectrochemical series; 'H2O < F- < Cl- < I-...' places weak halide donors above water; 'Cl- < I- < F-...' places chloride below iodide.
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