Electronic oxide polarizability and optical basicity of simple oxides. I

The average electronic oxide polarizability α₀²⁻ of numerous single component oxides has been calculated on the basis of two different properties: linear refractive index n₀ and energy gap E_g, which have demonstrated remarkable correlation. The optical basicity Λ of the oxides has been estimated on the basis of average electronic oxide polarizability calculated from the refractive index Λ(n₀) and the energy gap Λ(E_g). A good agreement has been observed between the optical basicity data obtained using independent initial quantities. The simple oxides have been separated into three groups according to the values of their oxide polarizability. The α₀²⁻ values (above 3 Å) obtained for PbO, Sb₂O₃, and Bi₂O₃ have been attributed to the high cation polarizability and the presence of a lone pair in the valence shell of the cation.