Journal of Physical Chemistry A, Vol.105, No.19, 4781-4789, 2001
Structural characterization of 1 : 1 van der Waals complexes of 9-cyanoanthracene with aprotic solvents by rotational coherence spectroscopy
Structures of 9-cyanoanthracene (CNA) clusters microsolvated with a single molecule of aprotic solvents (carbon dioxide, two isotopomers of acetonitrile, and fluoroform) have been studied by rotational coherence spectroscopy (RCS) implemented with the time-resolved fluorescence depletion method. All of the observed RCS traces exhibit pronounced C-type transients, and this fact suggests that these species are quite close to planar asymmetric tops with their electronic transition moments pointing to in-plane directions. Weak J-type transients have been also identified for CNA-CO2 and -CF3H, the latter of which shows A-type transients as well. By comparing the experimental observations with density functional theory calculations at the B3LYP/6-31G(d,p) level, it is concluded that the solvent molecule is located by the side of the CN group of CNA with its molecular axis lying in the CNA molecular plane. All of the cluster geometries are of C, symmetry, in which a positively charged atom of the solvents (C, H, or H for CO2, CH3CN, and CF3H, respectively) is close to the cyano nitrogen of CNA, while an electonegative part (O, N, or F) contacts with the 1-position hydrogen of CNA. Some geometrical parameters including the centers of mass separation are obtained from the RCS-derived rotational constants.