THE SPECTRUM OF THE FREE $BH_{2}$ RADICAL

Author Institution: Division of Pure Physics, National Research CouncilA progression of bands with open structure has been observed in the red and near infrared regions (6000-9000 {\AA}) during the flash photolysis of borine carbonyl $(H_{3}BCO)$. The rotational fine structure of these bands shows a clear intensity alternation and in addition, successive members of the progression show an alternation of band type. These observations lead to the conclusion that the bands are due to the free $BH_{2}$ radical and that this molecule is linear in the upper state and bent in the lower state. The transition $(^{1}B_{1}-^{1}A_{1})$ is exactly what would be expected on the basis of the electron configuration and is similar to the absorption bands of $NH_{2}$ and $CH_{2}$ which occur in the same spectral region