Oxygen-17 hyperfine structures in the pure rotational spectra of SrO, SnO, BaO, HfO and ThO.

Hyperfine structures arising from the couplings of the nuclear spin angular momentum of (17)O (I = 5/2) with the end over end rotation of several metal-containing diatomic monoxides have been observed using a Fourier transform microwave spectrometer. The molecules have been produced by reacting (17)O(2) with laser ablated metal atoms. The oxygen-17 nuclear quadrupole coupling constants have been determined for the title molecules and are interpreted in terms of a simple Townes-Dailey model.