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Following the recent discovery of T-shaped GeC2, rotational spectra of three larger Ge carbides, linear GeC4, GeC5, and GeC6 have been observed using chirped pulse and cavity Fourier transform microwave spectroscopy and a laser ablation molecule source, guided by new high-level quantum chemical calculations of their molecular structure. Like their isovalent Si-bearing counterparts, Ge carbides with an even number of carbon atoms beyond GeC2 are predicted to possess 1Σ ground electronic states, while odd-numbered carbon chains are generally 3Σ; all are predicted to be highly polar. For the three new molecules detected in this work, rotational lines of four of the five naturally occurring Ge isotopic variants have been observed between 6 and 22 GHz. Combining these measurements with ab initio force fields, the Ge–C bond lengths have been determined to high precision: the derived values of 1.776 Å for GeC4, 1.818 Å for GeC5, and 1.782 Å for GeC6 indicate a double bond between these two atoms. Somewhat surprisingly, the spectrum of GeC5 very closely resembles that of a 1Σ molecule, implying a spin–spin coupling constant λ in excess of 770 GHz for this radical, a likely consequence of the large spin–orbit constant of atomic Ge (∼1000 cm−1). A systematic comparison between the production of SiCn and GeCn chains by laser ablation has also been undertaken. The present work suggests that other large metal-bearing molecules may be amenable to detection by similar means. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report the gas-phase detection and spectroscopic characterisation of ethynethiol (), a metastable isomer of thioketene () using a combination of Fourier-transform microwave and submillimetre-wave spectroscopies. Several a-type transitions of the normal species were initially detected below 40 GHz using a supersonic expansion-electrical discharge source, and subsequent measurement of higher-frequency, b-type lines using double resonance provided accurate predictions in the submillimetre region. With these, searches using a millimetre-wave absorption spectrometer equipped with a radio frequency discharge source were conducted in the range 280–660 GHz, ultimately yielding nearly 100 transitions up to and. From the combined data set, all three rotational constants and centrifugal distortion terms up to the sextic order were determined to high accuracy, providing a reliable set of frequency predictions to the lower end of the THz band. Isotopic substitution has enabled both a determination of the molecular structure of HCCSH and, by inference, its formation pathway in our nozzle discharge source via the bimolecular radical-radical recombination reaction , which is calculated to be highly exothermic (−477 kJ/mol) using the HEAT345(Q) thermochemical scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a microwave spectral taxonomy study of several hydrocarbon/CS2 discharge mixtures in which more than 60 distinct chemical species, their more abundant isotopic species, and/or their vibrationally excited states were detected using chirped-pulse and cavity Fourier-transform microwave spectroscopies. Taken together, in excess of 85 unique variants were detected, including several new isotopic species and more than 25 new vibrationally excited states of C2S, C3S, and C4S, which have been assigned on the basis of published vibration–rotation interaction constants for C3S, or newly calculated ones for C2S and C4S. On the basis of these precise, low-frequency measurements, several vibrationally exited states of C2S and C3S were subsequently identified in archival millimeter-wave data in the 253–280 GHz frequency range, ultimately providing highly accurate catalogs for astronomical searches. As part of this work, formation pathways of the two smaller carbon–sulfur chains were investigated using 13C isotopic spectroscopy, as was their vibrational excitation. The present study illustrates the utility of microwave spectral taxonomy as a tool for complex mixture analysis, and as a powerful and convenient ‘stepping stone’ to higher frequency measurements in the millimeter and submillimeter bands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The planarity of the second stable conformer of 1,3‐butadiene, the archetypal diene for the Diels–Alder reaction in which a planar conjugated diene and a dienophile combine to form a ring, is not established. The most recent high level calculations predicted the species to adopt a twisted, gauche structure owing to steric interactions between the inner terminal hydrogens rather than a planar, cis structure favored by the conjugation of the double bonds. The structure cis‐1,3‐butadiene is unambiguously confirmed experimentally to indeed be gauche with a substantial dihedral angle of 34°, in excellent agreement with theory. Observation of two tunneling components indicates that the molecule undergoes facile interconversion between two equivalent enantiomeric forms. Comparison of experimentally determined structures for gauche‐ and trans‐butadiene provides an opportunity to examine the effects of conjugation and steric interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Supercritical CO2 is an appealing nontoxic, environmentally friendly solvent for the industrial extraction of many classes of compounds, from caffeine to natural product drug precursors to petrochemical impurities. Apolar in isolation, the ability of supercritical CO2 to dissolve polar species has been empirically shown to be greatly enhanced by the addition of a small molar percentage of a polar cosolvent, often ethanol. Computational work predicts that the isolated ethanol-CO2 complex can exist either in an electron-donor configuration or through a hydrogen-bonding one; yet, neither has been previously experimentally observed. Here, we demonstrate by rotational spectroscopy that the isolated, gas-phase ethanol-CO2 dimer is an electron donor-acceptor complex. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thionitrous acid (HSNO), a potential key intermediate in biological signaling pathways, has been proposed to link NO and H2S biochemistries, but its existence and stability in vivo remain controversial. We establish that HSNO is spontaneously formed in high concentration when NO and H2S gases are mixed at room temperature in the presence of metallic surfaces. Our measurements reveal that HSNO is formed by the reaction H2S + N2O3 → HSNO + HNO2, where N2O3 is a product of NO disproportionation. These studies also suggest that further reaction of HSNO with H2S may form HNO and HSSH. The length of the S-N bond has been derived to high precision and is found to be unusually long: 1.84 Å, the longest S-N bond reported to date for an R-SNO compound. The present structural and, particularly, reactivity investigations of this elusive molecule provide a firm foundation to better understand its potential physiological chemistry and propensity to undergo S-N bond cleavage in vivo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sulfur monoxide (SO) is a highly reactive molecule and thus, eludes bulk isolation. We report here on synthesis and reactivity of a molecular precursor for SO generation, namely 7-sulfinylamino- 7-azadibenzonorbornadiene (1). This compound has been shown to fragment readily driven by dinitrogen expulsion and anthracene formation on heating in the solid state and in solution, releasing SO at mild temperatures (<100 °C). The generated SO was detected in the gas phase by MS and rotational spectroscopy. In solution, 1 allows for SO transfer to organic molecules as well as transition metal complexes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]