Dipole polarizability and bond dissociation energy

The change of thermodynamic equilibrium-state functions, such as the change in enthalpy ΔH or free enthalpy ΔG, in bond dissociation processes is well known in general. On the other hand, the systematic investigation of the change in electrical and electro-optical properties, such as the dipole polarizability α, seems to be a rather unexplored field in physical chemistry. In this Communication we report on a remarkable correlation between the change in dipole polarizability Δα and the bond dissociation energy D0298 for various dissociation processes.