The angular overlap model in ligand field theory

A critical discussion of the angular overlap model in ligand field theory is attempted. We first discuss the relationship between the experimental data and the a.o.m. parameters, and show that the a.o.m. parameters can usually be assumed to give a faithful representation of the electronic interactions between the metal atom and the ligands. We then investigate quantum-mechanically the nature of the ligand field potential using one-electron theory and this enables us to justify the usual chemical interpretation of the a.o.m. parameterization.