Collision-induced absorption in ethane in the microwave and far-infrared regions

Abstract

The collision-induced absorption spectrum of gaseous ethane has been measured at 295 K over a density range from 12 to 45 amagat in the 50–360 cm−1 region and at densities up to 59 amagat at 4.6, 17.4, and 29.6 cm−1. The measurements were made using a Fourier transform spectrometer, an HCN laser, a FIR laser, and microwave techniques. A collision-induced torsional absorption is observed which is centred at 280 cm−1 and is superimposed on the collision-induced rotation–translation absorption. Theoretically, the latter absorption can be ascribed to quadrupolar interaction. This theory has been used to extract estimates for the quadrupole moment of ethane. The results provide an upper limit for the value of Q = −1.28 × 10−26 esu. Lower estimates are also given which reflect a larger contribution to the absorption from the torsional band by using the known absorption profiles for N2 and C2H4. These estimates are compared with other theoretical and experimental values.