The d-electron configuration of and respectively are:

Question

The d-electron configuration of  and  respectively are:

Canvas Classes · Accepted Answer

Strategy:
 Apply ligand field theory, keeping in mind that 4d metals behave differently than 3d metals to forcing spin pairing.

Step 1: Evaluate 
 is a  ion.
Because it is a 4d metal,  is intrinsically very large () even with moderate ligands. With a strong field ligand like en, it is unquestionably low-spin.
All 6 electrons pair in the lower orbitals: .

Step 2: Evaluate 
 is a  ion.
Water is a weak field ligand, resulting in a high-spin complex.
The 6 electrons distribute as: .

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