11 research outputs found
The crucial importance of the -- hybridization in transition metal oxides
We studied the influence of the trigonal distortion of the regular octahedron
along the (111) direction, found in the layers. Under such a
distortion the orbitals split into one and two degenerated
orbitals. We focused on the relative order of these orbitals.
Using quantum chemical calculations of embedded clusters at different levels of
theory, we analyzed the influence of the different effects not taken into
account in the crystalline field theory; that is metal-ligand hybridization,
long-range crystalline field, screening effects and orbital relaxation. We
found that none of them are responsible for the relative order of the
orbitals. In fact, the trigonal distortion allows a mixing of the and
orbitals of the metallic atom. This hybridization is at the origin of the
-- relative order and of the incorrect prediction of the
crystalline field theory