A brief historical overview of physical chemistry at the University of Geneva as well as a description of the present research activities at the department of physical chemistry are presented.

The ⁶³Cu NQR spectra of five dicoordinated complex cations of Cu(I) with substituted imidazoles as ligands and six analogous complexes with substituted pyrazoles as ligands are reported. The structures of four of these complexes have been previously determined and the relationship of their ⁶³Cu resonance frequency to the average Cu---N bond length is compared to that of the analogous lutidine or collidine complexes. It is concluded that there are probably significant differences between the electronic structures of the pyridine complexes and those of the pyrazole or imidazole series.