They have investigated the shape of the solvatochromic absorption band for Betaine-26 2,4,6-triphenyl-N-(di-tert-butyl-4-hydroxyphenyl)pyridinium ion in a range of polar, apolar, protic, and aprotic solvents. Multiphonon band theory, including both molecular modes and a vibrationally dispersive solvent, indicates that the solvents fall in three categories: (1) The bandshape for polar, aprotic solvents is well reproduced by that for a structureless continuous dielectric and a single high-frequency molecular mode. Solvent broadening correlates with epsilon/sub o//sup -1/ - epsilon/sub s//sup -1/, epsilon/sub o/ being the optical and epsilon/sub s/ the static dielectric constant. The molecular frequency, Omega/sub c/, and displacement, ..delta../sub c/, are not very solvent dependent, emphasizing their molecular character, and the value Omega/sub c/ approx. = 1600 cm/sup -1/ suggests that C-O, C-N, and C-C stretching is involved. (2) Bands for apolar, aprotic solvents correspond to the same model. Omega/sub c/ and ..delta../sub c/ are again not very solvent dependent and coincide with the values for polar aprotic solvents. The solvent broadening is solvent independent, and wider than that for a structureless dielectric. This points to multipolar, dispersive, pressure, or pseudopotential forces as coupling mechanisms. (3) The bandshape for normal alcohols can only be produced by a model resting on twomore » molecular modes and a vibrational high-frequency solvent tail. Broadening, asymmetry, molecular frequencies, and deuterium isotope effects trace the protic solvent spectral entanglement to coupling between betaine-26 and a local mode group with features of both O-H stretching and bending and of librational solvent motion.« less