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Frequently Asked Question
Questions asked by users might not always be phrased in the clearest way.
A stranger came upon a plastic container with a purple powder. The label on the bottle indicated [co(ox)3]4-. he brings it to the lab and asks you to investigate the degree of magnetism. what is the ground state energy term?
Accepted Answer
To determine the ground state energy term for [Co(ox)3]4-, we need to consider the electronic configuration and the spin state of the cobalt(II) ion.
1. Electronic Configuration: Cobalt(II) has a d7 electronic configuration. In the complex, the oxalate ligands (ox) are strong field ligands, causing significant splitting of the d orbitals. This leads to the low spin configuration, where all seven electrons occupy the lower energy d orbitals.
2. Spin State: With seven electrons in the lower energy d orbitals, the complex has three unpaired electrons. This results in a spin multiplicity of 2S+1 = 4, meaning it is a quartet state.
3. Ground State Term Symbol: The ground state term symbol is determined by the total orbital angular momentum (L) and the total spin angular momentum (S). For a d7 configuration in a low spin complex, L = 2 and S = 3/2. Therefore, the ground state term symbol is 4F.
This indicates that the complex is paramagnetic, with three unpaired electrons contributing to its magnetic moment.
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