A HIGH RESOLUTION FAR INFRARED STUDY OF LOW LYING VIBRATIONAL BANDS OF 3-OXETANONE

Author Institution: Department of Chemistry, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg MB R3T 2N2 CanadaRotationally resolved vibrational spectra of the four lowest frequency bands of the four-membered heterocycle 3-oxetanone (c-C$_3$H$_4$O$_2$) have been collected with a resolution of 0.00096 cm$^{-1}$ using the far infrared beamline at the Canadian Light Source synchrotron. The modes observed correspond to motions best described as: ring puckering $v_{21}$ at 139.55 cm$^{-1}$, C=O deformation (out-of-plane) $v_{20}$ at 399.59 cm$^{-1}$, C=O deformation (in-plane) $v_{16}$ at 448.19 cm$^{-1}$, and the ring deformation $v_7$ at 684.99 cm$^{-1}$. The observed spectra exhibit rich spectroscopic features including hot bands originating from the low energy ring puckering band and a first order \emph{a-type} Coriolis interaction between the closely spaced $v_{16}$ and $v_{20}$ bands. The assignment and analysis of these dense spectra will be presented