. Addition of polar solvents to non-polar solutions of crystal violet results in dramatic changes in the visible absorption spectra. The observed changes are explained in terms of crystal violet existing as an ion-pair in non-polar solutions and as a solvated ion in polar solutions.The spectrum of crystal violet in toluene and in acetone solution remains virtually unchanged over a wide temperature range. However in methanol, as was reported for ethanol (I), the short wavelength component of the absorption in the visible region disappears as the temperature is lowered. The spectral behaviour in alcoholic solut~ons suggests a decreasing solvent-solute interaction around the dye cation due to increased self-association of the solvent molecules as the temperature is decreased. Our observations have a direct application in interpreting some of the results of the photodynamics of crystal violet in solution.J. KORPPI-TOMMOLA et R. W. YIP. Can. J. Chem. 59, 191 (1981). L'addition de solvants polaires aux solutions non polaires du cristal violet provoque des changements majeurs dans le spectre d'absorption visible. On explique les changements observes en fonction du fait que le cristal violet existe sous forme d'une paire d'ions dans les solutions non polaires et sous forme d'ion solvate dans les solutions polaires.Dans le toluene et dans une solution d'acetone, le spectre du cristal violet reste inchange sur une large echelle de temperature. Cependant, dans le methanol et tel que rapport6 pour I'tthanol (I), la composante de courte longueur d'onde de I'absorption dans la region du visible, disparait lorsqu'on abaisse la temperature. L e comportement spectral dans les solutions alcooliques suggere une diminution de I'interaction solvant-solute autour du cation colorant, provenant de I'augmentation de I'auto-association des molecules du solvant lorsque la temperature diminue. Nos observations trouvent une application directe dans I'interpretation de quelques resultats de la photodynamique du cristal violet en solution.[Traduit par lejournal] Introduction rings. This suggestion was based on the important The phenyl rings of the dye cation crystal violet observation that as the temperature is lowered, one (CV) (tri-p-dimethylamino phenylcarbonium ion), of the bands (the one at short wavelength) tends to like other triphenylmethane dyes, are forced out of disappear while the other band increases in abthe molecular plane by rotation about the central sorption. The observation clearly rules out the inbonds because of steric hindrance between the terpretation that the band structure represents a rings (1). If all of the rings are rotated in the same partially resolved vibrational structure of a single sense over the same angle, then the cation resem-electronic state. Recent experiments on the