Q.Write the factors which are related to the colour of transition metal ions.
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Start your 14-day free trial to unlock the full solution →Colour comes from visible-light-driven d–d electron transitions, whose exact energy (and hence the colour seen) depends on the metal's oxidation state, its ligands, and the complex's geometry.
Transition metal ions are typically coloured because their d subshell is only partly filled ( to ). Key factors:
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Partly-filled d-orbitals / presence of unpaired electrons: in a free ion the five d orbitals are degenerate, but on complex formation the surrounding ligands split them into two (or more) sets of different energy (crystal field splitting, ). An electron can be excited from the lower-energy set to the higher-energy set by absorbing a photon of visible light matching — this is the d–d transition responsible for colour. Ions with a completely empty () or completely filled () d subshell (e.g. , ) are colourless, since no such transition is possible.
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Oxidation state of the metal: a higher oxidation state usually increases (stronger ligand field due to greater positive charge), shifting the absorbed wavelength and hence the observed colour (e.g. vs compounds differ in colour).
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