In the crystal field model, ligands are treated as infinitesimally small (negative) point charges (represented by white spheres in the figures below). The orientation of each of the five unhybridized d orbitals in a linear geometry is shown below. Note that only the total electron density is shown for each orbital, i.e., the phases for each orbital are not shown.
| dxy
x-axis = yellow Note that the electron density lies in the x-y plane, perpendicular to the z-axis (i.e., the lobes of the orbital do not point directly at any of the point charges).
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| dxz
x-axis = yellow Note that the electron density lies in the x-z plane. Although the lobes of the orbital do not point directly at any of the point charges, the electron density is distributed toward the point charges.
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| dyz
x-axis = yellow Note that the electron density lies in the y-z plane. Although the lobes of the orbital do not point directly at any of the point charges, the electron density is distributed toward the point charges.
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| dx2-y2
x-axis = yellow Note that the electron density lies in the x-y plane, perpendicular to the z-axis (i.e., the lobes of the orbital do not point directly at any of the point charges).
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| dz2
x-axis = yellow Note that the electron density lies directly in line with the point charges on the z axis (i.e., the lobes of the orbital point directly at the point charges).
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