TY - JOUR

T1 - Unraveling the spectroscopy of coupled intramolecular tunneling modes

T2 - A study of double proton transfer in the formic-acetic acid complex

AU - Tayler, Michael C.D.

AU - Ouyang, Bin

AU - Howard, Brian J.

PY - 2011/2/7

Y1 - 2011/2/7

N2 - The rotational spectrum of the hetero dimer comprising doubly hydrogen-bonded formic acid and acetic acid has been recorded between 4 and 18 GHz using a pulsed-nozzle Fourier transform microwave spectrometer. Each rigid-molecule rotational transition is split into four as a result of two concurrently ongoing tunneling motions, one being proton transfer between the two acid molecules, and the other the torsion/rotation of the methyl group within the acetyl part. We present a full assignment of the spectrum J 1 to J 6 for the ground vibronic states. The transitions are fitted to within a few kilohertz of the observed frequencies using a molecule-fixed effective rotational Hamiltonian for the separate A and E vibrational species of the G12 permutation-inversion symmetry group. Interpretation of the motion problem uses an internal-vibration and overall-rotation angular momentum coupling scheme and full sets of rotational and centrifugal distortion constants are determined. The tunneling frequencies of the proton-transfer motion are measured for the ground A and E methyl rotation states as 250.4442(12) and -136.1673(30) MHz, respectively. The slight deviation of the latter tunneling frequency from being one half of the former, as simple theory otherwise predicts, is due to different degrees of mixing in wavefunctions between the ground and excited states.

AB - The rotational spectrum of the hetero dimer comprising doubly hydrogen-bonded formic acid and acetic acid has been recorded between 4 and 18 GHz using a pulsed-nozzle Fourier transform microwave spectrometer. Each rigid-molecule rotational transition is split into four as a result of two concurrently ongoing tunneling motions, one being proton transfer between the two acid molecules, and the other the torsion/rotation of the methyl group within the acetyl part. We present a full assignment of the spectrum J 1 to J 6 for the ground vibronic states. The transitions are fitted to within a few kilohertz of the observed frequencies using a molecule-fixed effective rotational Hamiltonian for the separate A and E vibrational species of the G12 permutation-inversion symmetry group. Interpretation of the motion problem uses an internal-vibration and overall-rotation angular momentum coupling scheme and full sets of rotational and centrifugal distortion constants are determined. The tunneling frequencies of the proton-transfer motion are measured for the ground A and E methyl rotation states as 250.4442(12) and -136.1673(30) MHz, respectively. The slight deviation of the latter tunneling frequency from being one half of the former, as simple theory otherwise predicts, is due to different degrees of mixing in wavefunctions between the ground and excited states.

U2 - 10.1063/1.3528688

DO - 10.1063/1.3528688

M3 - Journal article

AN - SCOPUS:79951541043

VL - 134

JO - Journal of Chemical Physics

JF - Journal of Chemical Physics

SN - 0021-9606

IS - 5

M1 - 054316

ER -