Advances in High-Resolution Laser Spectroscopy of Coordination Compounds

Abstract
Advanced laser spectroscopies are shown to be invaluable in providing unambiguous detail concerning the electronic structure of coordination compounds. The basic principles of two techniques which overcome the effect of inhomogeneous broadening, namely fluorescence line narrowing and hole-burning spectroscopy, are discussed. Their use and limitations in transition-metal complexes along with examples from our own work are given. These examples present a full range of d-d, ligand-centered singlet-triplet and charge-transfer transitions in both crystal-line and amorphous hosts.