Spin States (d Electrons)

Spin States (d Electrons)

Spin states when describing transition metal coordination complexes refers to the potential spin configurations of the metal center's d electrons. In many these spin states vary between high-spin and low-spin configurations. These configurations can be understood through the two major models used to describe coordination complexes; ligand field theory, which is an application of molecular orbital theory to transition metals, and crystal field theory, which has roots in VSEPR theory.