A second rhomboidal isomer of SiC3

Abstract

A second low-lying cyclic isomer of SiC3 has been detected in a supersonic molecular beam by Fourier transform microwave spectroscopy. Calculated to lie about 5 kcal above the ground state rhomboid, the new isomer is also a planar rhomboid with a transannular bond, C2v symmetry, and a singlet electronic ground state. The transannular bond, however, is between the Si and the opposite C, and the rotational spectrum as a result is that of an oblate, not a prolate, asymmetric rotor. Both rhomboidal isomers of SiC3 are produced with comparable abundance under a wide range of experimental conditions, which suggests that cyclic isomers of longer silicon carbides may now be observable with the present techniques. Oblate SiC3 is a plausible molecule for astronomical detection because it is calculated to be fairly polar, and because radio emission lines of the ground state rhomboid have already been detected in the circumstellar shell of the evolved carbon star IRC+10216.