Abstract
Ligand field calculations have been performed based on the data from the absorption and low temperature sharp-line excitation spectra of fac-Cr(gly)₃, fac-Cr(L-serine)₃ · 2H₂O and fac-Cr(L-leucine)₃·2H₂O. The optimized ligand field parameters for all complexes show that the carboxylate and the amino groups are moderate σ-donor. The values of $e_{{\pi}O}$ are typical of other complexes with carboxylate ligands. However, the π-interaction of carboxylic oxygen to the chromium in serinato complex is much weaker than that of other complexes. The inclusion of π-anisotropy is necessary to adequately explain the large doublet splittings.