D Electron Count - Tanabe-Sugano Diagram

Tanabe-Sugano Diagram

Each of the ten possible d electron counts has an associated Tanabe-Sugano diagram describing gradations of possible ligand field environments a metal center could experience in an octahedral geometry. The Tanabe-Sugano diagram with a small amount of information accurately predicts absorptions in the UV and visible electromagnetic spectrum resulting from d to d orbital electron transitions. It is these d-d transitions, ligand to metal charge transfers (LMCT), or metal to ligand charge transfers (MLCT) that generally give metals complexes their vibrant colors.