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Title: Accurate rotational constant and bond lengths of hexafluorobenzene by femtosecond rotational Raman coherence spectroscopy and ab initio calculations

Journal Article · · Journal of Chemical Physics
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4901284· OSTI ID:22415377
; ;  [1]
  1. Departement für Chemie und Biochemie, Universität Bern, Freiestrasse 3, CH-3000 Bern 9 (Switzerland)

The gas-phase rotational motion of hexafluorobenzene has been measured in real time using femtosecond (fs) time-resolved rotational Raman coherence spectroscopy (RR-RCS) at T = 100 and 295 K. This four-wave mixing method allows to probe the rotation of non-polar gas-phase molecules with fs time resolution over times up to ∼5 ns. The ground state rotational constant of hexafluorobenzene is determined as B{sub 0} = 1029.740(28) MHz (2σ uncertainty) from RR-RCS transients measured in a pulsed seeded supersonic jet, where essentially only the v = 0 state is populated. Using this B{sub 0} value, RR-RCS measurements in a room temperature gas cell give the rotational constants B{sub v} of the five lowest-lying thermally populated vibrationally excited states ν{sub 7/8}, ν{sub 9}, ν{sub 11/12}, ν{sub 13}, and ν{sub 14/15}. Their B{sub v} constants differ from B{sub 0} by between −1.02 MHz and +2.23 MHz. Combining the B{sub 0} with the results of all-electron coupled-cluster CCSD(T) calculations of Demaison et al. [Mol. Phys. 111, 1539 (2013)] and of our own allow to determine the C-C and C-F semi-experimental equilibrium bond lengths r{sub e}(C-C) = 1.3866(3) Å and r{sub e}(C-F) = 1.3244(4) Å. These agree with the CCSD(T)/wCVQZ r{sub e} bond lengths calculated by Demaison et al. within ±0.0005 Å. We also calculate the semi-experimental thermally averaged bond lengths r{sub g}(C-C)=1.3907(3) Å and r{sub g}(C-F)=1.3250(4) Å. These are at least ten times more accurate than two sets of experimental gas-phase electron diffraction r{sub g} bond lengths measured in the 1960s.

OSTI ID:
22415377
Journal Information:
Journal of Chemical Physics, Vol. 141, Issue 19; Other Information: (c) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0021-9606
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English