CRYSTALLINE FIELD THEORY OF Ni2+ COMPLEXES
The energy levels of the octahedrally and the tetrahedrally coordinated 3d8 Ni2+ complexes have been calculated using the Racah formalism (1942), taking account of both the crystalline electric field and the spin-orbit coupling. The predicted optical absorption spectra are in satisfactory agreement with the observed spectra in the octahedral complexes by Hartmann and Müller (1958) and in the tetrahedral complexes by Cotton et al. (1961). The magnetic susceptibility calculated using these energy levels agrees with the experimental values. It is found that the Racah parameters must be reduced by 55% from the free ion values in order to explain the optical absorption spectra in tetrahedral complexes.