THE ARGON-FORMIC ACID VAN DER WAALS COMPLEX

Author Institution: Department of Chemistry, University of MichiganSeventeen a- and b-dipole transitions of the $Ar\bullet$ HCOOH van der Waals complex have been observed by Fourier Transform microwave spectroscopy. They were fit with a Watson A-reduced Hamiltonian to rotational constants $A = 12116.629(3)$ MHz, $B = 1663.523(1)$ MHz, $C = 1459.382(1)$ MHz. The dipole moment of the complex was determined as 1.305(1) D. Along with the normal species, seven b-type lines for both the ${13}_{C}$ and DCOOH species were measured, in order to obtain the structure. The rotational constants indicate that the complex is planar. The two subunits are separated by a distance $R_{cm} = 3.73(1)${\AA}. The argon lies on the hydroxyl side, with the next closest heavy atom being the carbonyl oxygen