Spectroscopy of hexafluorides with an odd number of electrons: The vibronic bands of IrF6

The low resolution absorption spectroscopy of the first five excited electronic states of IrF6 has made possible some new assignments for the vibronic transitions of this molecule, and the determination of new vibronic parameter values. They are more accurate than those found in the literature. In this aim, we introduce a simplified tensorial formulation for the linear Jahn-Teller terms in a fourfold degenerate electronic state of an XY(6)-type molecule, which allows easier computation of matrix elements and avoids the use of perturbation theory. Methods for IrF6 synthesis (using a dynamical flow system) and purification are also presented. (C) 1996 Academic Press, Inc.