The crystal field theory is highly useful and more significant as compared to the valence bond theory. Even after such useful properties, it has many limitations. The following points will clearly state the limitations of crystal field theory:
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The assumption that the interaction between metal-ligand is purely electrostatic cannot be said to be very realistic.
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This theory takes only d-orbitals of a central atom into account. The s and p orbits are not considered for the study.
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The theory fails to explain the behavior of certain metals which cause large splitting while others show small splitting. For example, the theory has no explanation as to why H2O is a stronger ligand as compared to OH–.
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The theory rules out the possibility of having p bonding. This is a serious drawback because p bonding is found in many complexes.
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The theory gives no significance to the orbits of the ligands. Therefore it cannot explain any properties related to ligand orbitals and their interaction with metal orbitals.
