Question

1. Answer ALL parts a) — c).

a) Explain briefly why ligand exchange reactions of Cr(III) are typically very slow.

b) Which of the two manganese complexes shown below will have the greatest value of Ao Give an explanation for your conclusion.
[Mn(H2O )6]2“, [Mn(CN)6]

C) Draw d-orbital splitting diagrams of each electronic configuration for which both high- and low-spin possibilities exist for octahedral transition metal complexes. In such cases, which factors determine whether an
octahedral metal complex adopts a high- or a low-spin d-electron configuration?