--- title: "Crystal field splitting Template | MolDraw" url: https://www.moldraw.com/templates/genchem-crystal-field/ description: "Crystal field splitting template: d-orbital splitting diagrams for octahedral (t₂g/eg, Δo), tetrahedral (e/t₂, Δt ≈ 4/9 Δo) and square planar complexes, with…" lang: en publisher: Scidart Academy generated: 2026-10-28 --- [MolDraw](https://www.moldraw.com/) › [Templates](https://www.moldraw.com/templates/) › [General & inorganic](https://www.moldraw.com/templates/general-and-inorganic/) › Crystal field splitting [General & inorganic](https://www.moldraw.com/templates/general-and-inorganic/)Free # Crystal field splitting template ![Crystal field splitting template: d-orbital splitting diagrams for octahedral (t₂g/eg, Δo), tetrahedral (e/t₂, Δt ≈ 4/9 Δo) and square planar complexes, with the barycentre and example complexes.](https://www.moldraw.com/templates/download/genchem-crystal-field.svg) [Edit in MolDraw](https://www.moldraw.com/)[Download SVG](https://www.moldraw.com/templates/download/genchem-crystal-field.svg) Free template. Download it, or open it in MolDraw to change it first. d-orbital splitting diagrams for octahedral (t₂g/eg, Δo), tetrahedral (e/t₂, Δt ≈ 4/9 Δo) and square planar complexes, with the barycentre and example complexes. ## What the template shows - How the ligand arrangement splits the five d orbitals of a metal ion (energies in units of Δo, to scale) - Ligands on ±x, ±y, ±z point at the eg lobes - free ion - dxy, dxz, dyz - Inverted pattern and smaller: Δt ≈ 4/9 Δo; almost always high spin - e.g. [CoCl₄]²⁻, [NiCl₄]²⁻ - Square planar - Remove the two z ligands: z orbitals fall, dx²−y² is left high; typical of d⁸ ions - dxz, dyz - e.g. [Ni(CN)₄]²⁻, [PtCl₄]²⁻, cisplatin - Octahedral: t₂g at −0.4Δo and eg at +0.6Δo; the weighted average stays at the barycentre (3 × −0.4 + 2 × 0.6 = 0). - Tetrahedral: four ligands, none pointing at a d lobe, so the splitting is inverted (e below t₂) and smaller, Δt ≈ 4/9 Δo. - Square planar: the strongly destabilised dx²−y² stays empty for d⁸ ions (Ni²⁺, Pd²⁺, Pt²⁺, Au³⁺), which favours this geometry. Levels from angular overlap (12.28, 2.28, −4.28, −5.14 Dq); the place of dz² varies with the ligands. - Δ grows along the spectrochemical series I⁻ < Br⁻ < Cl⁻ < F⁻ < OH⁻ < H₂O < NH₃ < en < NO₂⁻ < CN⁻ < CO, and with metal charge and row (3d < 4d < 5d). - Every part of this figure is editable · sources on the template card Drawn with 258 shapes – every one editable in MolDraw. ## Sources - [Housecroft & Sharpe, Inorganic Chemistry, 5th ed., Pearson 2018, ch. 20](https://openlibrary.org/isbn/9781292134147) Textbook - [Miessler, Fischer & Tarr, Inorganic Chemistry, 5th ed., Pearson 2014, ch. 10](https://openlibrary.org/isbn/9780321811059) Textbook ## How to use this template 1. Press **Edit in MolDraw**. The template opens on the canvas of the free MolDraw editor. 2. Change anything: move structures, edit atoms and labels, recolour highlights or delete what you do not need. 3. Add your own structures, arrows and text next to it, or combine several templates on one page. 4. Export the drawing as PNG, SVG or PDF for slides, worksheets, theses and papers. ## Frequently asked questions ### Is the Crystal field splitting template free? Yes. The Crystal field splitting template is one of the free MolDraw templates: open it in the editor or download it from this page as SVG or PNG and use it in your slides, worksheets and notes. ### Can I edit the Crystal field splitting template? Yes. It opens as an ordinary MolDraw drawing, so every structure, arrow, label and colour can be changed, and you can add your own content around it. ### Is the chemistry checked? Every structure is checked with RDKit and every curly arrow passes MolDraw’s electron-flow audit. The sources used are listed on this page. ### Which MO diagrams are included? 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