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Internal Rotation and Spin Conversion of CH3OH in Solid Para-Hydrogen
Published
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
Wu, Y.
, Lees, R.
, Xu, L.
, Hougen, J.
and Lee, Y.
(2006),
Internal Rotation and Spin Conversion of CH<sub>3</sub>OH in Solid Para-Hydrogen, Science
(Accessed December 3, 2023)