Chemistry Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for scientists, academics, teachers, and students in the field of chemistry. It only takes a minute to sign up.
Sign up to join this community
I know how to predict magnetic nature when the compound contains only strong field or only weak field ligands. But in $\ce{[Co(NH3)4Cl2]Cl},$ $\ce{NH3}$ is a strong ligand whereas $\ce{Cl-}$ is a weak ligand.
So, how do we know if the ligands are causing the electrons to pair up or not? I understand VBT and CFT to predict the hybridisation and magnetic nature of compounds.
The ammine ligand is not really a strong-field ligand. It is not a strong π acceptor which is characteristic of strong-field ligands such as the nitrosyl cation or carbonyl. Instead, it is a weak π donor. Quite unlike other strong-field ligands such as cyanide, there are a great number of high-spin complexes with ammine ligands. Ammine (and aqua) ligands are better termed intermediate field. They can stabilise low-spin complexes but they typically also support high-spin environments.
Understanding when ligands cause the electrons to pair is very non-trivial but essentially guesswork. This is exemplified by some complexes being isolated in both the high-spin and low-spin states as is the case in $\ce{[Fe(ptz)6]^2+}$ ($\ce{ptz}$ being 1-propyl-1H-tetrazol-κN4). Furthermore, the metal has even more influence on the question with higher oxidation states typically stabilising low-spin configurations while lower oxidation states often favour high-spin complexes. The only clear cases are 4d and 5d transition metals which can be safely assumed low-spin unless stated otherwise.
With that said, cobalt(III) complexes feature a combination of a high (-ish) oxidation state of the central metal combined with a $\mathrm d^6$ environment which generally favours low-spin a bit more as it allows for maximum electronic stabilisation. Therefore, cobalt(III) complexes can be guessed as low-spin if they are not entirely made up of weak-field ligands. Ultimately, however, the experiment or calculation will have to answer.
