The temperature dependence of the d-electron dipole strengths of cobalt(II) tetrahalides

The dipole strengths of the ⁴A₂ → ⁴T₁(F), ⁴T₁(P), d-electron transitions of the cobalt(II) tetrahalides are found to decrease with an increase in temperature, in agreement with a dynamic ligand-polarisation model for the absorption mechanism. The reduction in dipole strength is accounted for by a decrease in the coulombic coupling between the quadrupole moment of the d-electron transition of the metal ion and the transient electric dipole moment induced in the ligands, due to the anharmonic increase in the mean bond length and the progressively larger mean-square amplitudes of the bending modes of the complex ion in its ground electronic state as the temperature is raised.