LASER SPECTROSCOPY OF NICKEL CYANIDE, NiCN, IN THE VISIBLE REGION

$^{a}$S.A. Kadavathu, R. Scullman, R.W. Field, J.A. Gray and M. Li, J. Mol. Spectrosc. 147, 448 (1991)Author Institution: University of British Columbia; Department of Chemistry, University of British Columbia; Department of Chemistry, Macalester CollegeThe electronic spectrum of NiCN has been observed in the visible region following the reaction of laser-ablated nickel with either $(CN)_{2}$ or $CH_{3}CN$ under supersonic jet-cooled conditions. High resolution LIF experiments have shown that the ground state is $^{2}\Delta_{5/2}$, with $B_{0} = 0.1444334(30) cm^{-1}$; using data taken with $CH_{3}C^{15}N$, the bond lengths are found to be $r_{0} (Ni-C) = 1.8292(37) \AA$ and $r_{0} (C-N) = 1.1591(52) \AA$. The vibrational structure of the ground state is an excellent example of strong Fermi resonance. Four excited electronic states have been identified. They are assigned as $\tilde{A}^{2}\Delta_{5/2}$ at $16607 cm^{-1}$, $\tilde{B}^{2}\Pi_{3/2}$ at $16686 cm^{-1}$, $\tilde{C}^{2}\Phi_{7/2}$ at $17813 cm^{-1}$ and $\tilde{D}^{2}\Phi_{5/2}$ at $19129 cm^{-1}$. The electronic structure of NiCN turns out to be remarkably similar to that of $NiH^{a}$