Question

Which sets of the d- orbitals are directly oriented towards the ligands in octahedral coordination compounds?

• A. $d_{x^{2}-y^{2}}$ and $d_{x y}$
• B. $d_{z^{2}}$ and $d_{y z}$
• C. $d_{x z}$ and $d_{x y}$
• D. $d_{x^{2}-y^{2}}$ and $d_{z^{2}}$

Answer 1

Answer: (D)

$d$-subshell has five orbitals, i.e. $d_{x^{2}-y^{2}} \cdot d_{z^{2}}, d_{x y'} d_{x z}$ and $d_{y z^{*}}$.
Out of which $d_{x^{2}-y^{2}}$ and $d_{z^{2}}$ are directly oriented towards ligands in octahedral coordination compounds because of high electron density in its orbitals.