Two-dimensional chirped-pulse Fourier transform microwave spectroscopy.

Two-dimensional (2D) correlation techniques are developed for chirped-pulse Fourier transform microwave (CP-FTMW) spectroscopy. The broadband nature of the spectrometer coupled with fast digital electronics permits the generation of arbitrary pulse sequences and simultaneous detection of the 8-18 GHz region of the microwave spectrum. This significantly increases the number of rotation transitions that can be simultaneously probed, as well as the bandwidth in both frequency dimensions.

Impact of molecular conformation on barriers to internal methyl rotation: the rotational spectrum of m-methylbenzaldehyde.

The ground state spectrum of m-methylbenzaldehyde (m-MBA) was measured with a chirped-pulse Fourier transform microwave (CP-FTMW) spectrometer. The methyl rotor on m-MBA introduces an internal rotation barrier, which leads to splitting of the torsional energy level degeneracy into A and E states. Ab initio calculations predict a low torsional barrier for both the O-cis and O-trans conformers, resulting in a large doublet splitting up to several gigahertz in the frequency spectrum.