ABSTRACT
Detected in interstellar space and as intermediates in soot formation, molecules of pure carbon in the form of linear chains or ring structures have interested researchers for several decades, who attempt to elucidate their physical properties and the processes govering their formation. A high-resolution infrared spectrometer housing a tunable diode laser and combined with an effective laser ablation source for the cluster production has been used to study the molecular properties of small carbon clusters; reported herein is the first gas-phase spectrum of linear C10.
Subject(s)
Carbon/analysis , Carbon/chemistry , Gases/chemistry , Lasers, Semiconductor , Spectrophotometry, InfraredABSTRACT
NASA: Technology associated with cavity ringdown laser absorption spectroscopy is reviewed. The technique is used to study general trace analysis, free radicals in flames and chemical reactors, molecular ions in electrical discharges, biological molecules and water clusters in supersonic jets, and vibrational overtones of stable molecules. Its specific enough to detect about 1-ppm fractional absorption by a gaseous sample in about 10 microseconds. The use of mirrors in ringdown sepctroscopy is explained. Other topics include the generation of pulsed infrared rays and the adaptation of ringdown spectroscopy for use with narrow-bandwidth continuous-wave lasers.^ieng
Subject(s)
Gases/analysis , Lasers , Spectrum Analysis/methods , Hydroxyl Radical/analysis , Optics and Photonics , Sensitivity and Specificity , Spectrum Analysis/instrumentation , Spectrum Analysis, RamanABSTRACT
The nu 5 antisymmetric stretching vibration of 1 sigma+g C9 has been observed using direct infrared diode laser absorption spectroscopy of a pulsed supersonic cluster beam. Twenty-eight rovibrational transitions measured in the region of 2079-2081 cm-1 were assigned to this band. A combined least squares fit of these transitions with previously reported nu 6 transitions yielded the following molecular constants for the nu 5 band: nu 0 = 2 079.673 58(17) cm-1, B"= 0.014 321 4(10) cm-1, and B'=0.014 288 9(10) cm-1. The IR intensity of the nu 5 band relative to nu 6 was found to be 0.108 +/- 0.006. Theoretical predictions for the relative intensities vary widely depending upon the level of theory employed, and the experimental value reported here is in reasonable agreement only with the result obtained from the most sophisticated ab initio calculation considered (CCSD).
Subject(s)
Carbon/chemistry , Lasers , Astronomical Phenomena , Astronomy , Carbon/analysis , Chemistry Techniques, Analytical/methods , Spectrophotometry, Infrared/methodsABSTRACT
The nu 1 fundamental vibration of linear SiC4 has been observed by infrared diode laser spectroscopy of a supersonic cluster beam. Twenty-four rovibrational transitions were measured in the spectral region of 2094.6 to 2097.1 cm-1, the rotational temperature was 10 K. A combined least-squares fit of these transitions with previously reported microwave data yielded the following molecular constants: nu 1 = 2095.45806(37) cm-1, B" = 0.051161131(52) cm-1, and B' = 0.0509157(96) cm-1. These results are compared to vibrational spectroscopy measurements of SiC4 trapped in a solid Ar matrix and to ab initio calculations.
Subject(s)
Carbon Compounds, Inorganic , Carbon/chemistry , Cosmic Dust/analysis , Lasers , Silicon Compounds/chemistry , Spectrophotometry, Infrared/methods , Argon , Astronomy/methods , Chemistry Techniques, Analytical/methodsABSTRACT
The nu 3(sigma u) fundamental vibration of 1 sigma g+ Si2C3 has been observed using a laser vaporization-supersonic cluster beam-diode laser spectrometer. Forty rovibrational transitions were measured in the range of 1965.8 to 1970.9 cm-1 with a rotational temperature of 10-15 K. A least-squares fit of these transitions yielded the following molecular constants: nu 3(sigma u)=1968.188 31(18) cm-1, B"=0.031 575 1(60) cm-1, and B'=0.031 437 4(57) cm-1. These results are in excellent agreement with recent Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) measurements of Si2C3 trapped in a solid Ar matrix [J. Chem. Phys. 100, 181(1994)] and with ab initio calculations [J. Chem. Phys. 100, 175 (1994)] which suggest cumulenic-like bonding for Si2C3, analogous to the isovalent C5 carbon cluster.
Subject(s)
Carbon Compounds, Inorganic , Carbon/chemistry , Lasers , Silicon Compounds/chemistry , Spectrophotometry, Infrared/methods , Argon , Astronomy/methods , Chemical Phenomena , Chemistry, PhysicalABSTRACT
The infrared absorption spectrum of a linear, 13-atom carbon cluster (C13) has been observed by using a supersonic cluster beam-diode laser spectrometer. Seventy-six rovibrational transitions were measured near 1809 wave numbers and assigned to an antisymmetric stretching fundamental in the 1 sigma g+ ground state of C13. This definitive structural characterization of a carbon cluster in the intermediate size range between C10 and C20 is in apparent conflict with theoretical calculations, which predict that clusters of this size should exist as planar monocyclic rings.
