Study of the lithium thiocyanate quadrupole by ultra-violet absorption spectroscopy

A spectroscopic method for studying quadrupole formation is described, and experimental results are presented for lithium thiocyanate in a tetrahydrofuran/hexane solvent system. From molar absorptivity equations and an equation by Fuoss and Kraus, a direct relationship is derived between the quadrupole formation constant, KQ, and the dielectric constant of the medium. Experimental results are consistent with the equation and allow an estimate of the distance between lithium and thiocyanate in the ion pair.