The absorption spectra of UCl5 single crystal were observed in the region between 0.6 and 2.4 μm at room, 77, and 4.2 K temperatures. Five pure electronic transitions were assigned at 11 665, 9772, 8950, 6643, and 4300 cm−1. The energy levels associated with these transitions were identified as the splittings of the 5f1 ground configuration under the influence of the spin–orbit coupling and a crystal field of C2v symmetry. The number of crystal field parameters was reduced by assuming the point-charge model where the positions of the ions were determined by X-ray crystallography. Then, the crystal field parameters and the spin–orbit coupling constant were calculated to be [Formula: see text],[Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], and ξ = 1760 cm−1. The vibronic analysis showed that the 90, 200, and 320 cm−1 modes were similar to the T2u(v6), T1u(v4), and T1u(v3) of an UCl6− octahedron, respectively.
