ESR Spectroscopy and Chemical Bonding in CdCN and HgCN Molecules

Abstract

The radical molecules CdCN and HgCN were trapped in rare gas matrices at 4°K and investigated via ESR spectroscopy. The g tensors and hyperfine structure constants (hfs) for interaction with 111Cd, 113Cd, 199Hg, and 201Hg were determined. These measurements indicate that CdCN and HgCN have 2Σ ground electronic states and predict the presence of 2IIr excited states near 2700 Å. The ionicity of these molecules are discussed based on an (ns)2S M+ limiting model and compared with previous results obtained for the more covalent CdH and HgH molecules.