Internal Rotation and Spin Conversion of CH3OH in Solid Para-Hydrogen

Published

January 20, 2006

Author(s)

Y J. Wu, R M. Lees, L H. Xu, Jon T. Hougen, Yuan-Pern Lee

Abstract

The quantum solid para-hydrogen (p-H2) has recently emerged as a novel host for matrix-isolation spectroscopy; species isolated in p-H2 exhibit spectral lines with widths much smaller than for samples in other inert-gas matrices, and several species have been reported to rotate in p-H2. This high resolution has revealed for the first time the signature of internal rotation for CH3OH isolated in solid p-H2 and has thereby permitted observation of slow conversion of nuclear spin symmetry from species E to A in the host matrix. The observed splittings of the E/A doublet in the internal-rotation-coupled vibrational modes are qualitatively consistent with those for CH3OH in the gaseous phase, while the increase in intensity with spin conversion enables unambiguous identification of transitions of the A component. Thus, the p-H2 matrix presents a significant new laboratory for the study of large-amplitude vibrational motions and spin conversion processes, providing valuable information to aid understanding of complicated spectral patterns in both the gas phase and in molecular i

Citation

Science

Pub Type

Journals

Keywords

infrared spectrum, internal rotation, methanol, nuclear spin conversion, solid para hydrogen, torsional splittings

Citation

Wu, Y. , Lees, R. , Xu, L. , Hougen, J. and Lee, Y. (2006), Internal Rotation and Spin Conversion of CH₃OH in Solid Para-Hydrogen, Science (Accessed October 1, 2025)