Charge-transfer transitions and optical spectra of chromites

Specific features of charge-transfer states and charge-transfer transitions of the O_2p → Cr_3d type in octahedral complexes (CrO₆)^9? have been considered in the cluster approximation. Reduced matrix elements of the electric-dipole moment operator on many-electron wave functions, which are the initial and final states for charge-transfer transitions, are calculated. The results are parameterized, and the relative intensities of different allowed charge-transfer transitions in the absence of mixing of different charge-transfer configurations with identical symmetry are calculated. This mixing is taken into account within the Tanabe-Sugano theory, and the true energies and intensities of many-electron charge-transfer transitions are obtained. The Coulomb interaction between 2p electrons of O^2? ligands and 3d electrons of the central Cr³⁺ ion in (CrO₆)^9? cluster is considered. The influence of this interaction on the optical spectra is found to be insignificant. Simulation of the optical spectra of chromium oxides has shown the presence of a band of complex charge-transfer transitions composed of 33 lines with a total width of about 8 eV. The model spectrum is in adequate agreement with the experimental data, which indicates limited applicability of the widespread view that charge-transfer transition spectra have a simple structure.