An E.S.R. study of electron irradiated K3IrCl6 in a NaCl host lattice

Electron irradiation of the diamagnetic [Ir^IIICl₆]^3- ion in a NaCl host lattice produces two paramagnetic species. ESR studies indicate that these slightly different species can be assigned to a [Ir^IICl₆]^4- complex, with 5d ⁷ low spin configuration, arising from the capture of an electron in a d_z ² orbital. The almost zero value for the quadrupolar interaction and the negative value for the core polarization field per unpaired spin are discussed in terms of a ligand field theory and the group overlap integral for the A _1g molecular orbital is calculated from the experimental data.