Inorganic · Coordination Chemistry
Crystal Field Theory (CFT)
Exam-focused revision notes on Crystal Field Theory (CFT) for CSIR-NET Chemical Sciences, GATE Chemistry and IIT-JAM — the core concepts, the formulas worth memorising, the traps that cost marks, and a quick-recall table.
The core idea
A metal ion's five d orbitals are degenerate when free. Surround it with ligands and their lone pairs repel the d electrons — but unequally, because some d orbitals point at the ligands and some point between them. That unequal repulsion splits the d orbitals in energy.
What this note covers
- 1The core idea
- 2Octahedral field (most important)
- 3CFSE (crystal field stabilization energy)
- 4High-spin vs low-spin (exam favourite)
- 5Spectrochemical series
- 6Tetrahedral field
- 7What CFT explains (and gets asked)
- 8Common traps students miss
- 930-second recall table
Read the full note
The remaining 8 sections — including the worked examples, the common-traps list and the quick-recall table — are part of ChemVidya Full Access, along with 6,000+ practice questions.
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