Abstract
The C3 molecule is an important species known to participate in key chemical reactions in combustion and astrochemistry. Its occurrence in environments of interest, its intramolecular physics, and its intermolecular reactivity have been areas of extensive and ongoing study. Much of the interest in C3 is related to investigating its interactions with other species relevant to combustion processes or astrochemistry. Helium droplet methods offer a promising route to assemble and study a wide variety of novel complexes, clusters, and adducts made from C3. Here we report the results of our recent efforts to dope cold helium droplets with C3 molecules and record the rotationally-resolved infrared spectrum of the embedded C3. The spectrum consists of P(2), R(0), and R(2) lines well-described by a linear rotor Hamiltonian with ν0 = 2039.09(2) cm-1, B = 0.204(5) cm-1, and T = 0.37 K. The B rotational constant of the C3 molecule is found to be reduced from its gas-phase value by a factor of 2.1 due to rotational following by the helium solvent.
Highlights
The C3 molecule is an important chemical species often found in flames, explosions, and other combustion processes, as well as in astronomical bodies such as comets and stars
It is known to serve as a soot precursor in combustion, and as an astrochemical building block towards polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), their hydrogen-deficient precursors, and carbon nanostructures such as fullerenes.[1,2]
We have previously used helium droplets to capture C2 and C3 molecules evaporated from graphite laser targets by a pulsed CO2 laser.[17]
Summary
The C3 molecule is an important chemical species often found in flames, explosions, and other combustion processes, as well as in astronomical bodies such as comets and stars. (Received 13 December 2017; accepted 30 January 2018; published online 12 February 2018) Rotationally-resolved infrared spectra are routinely obtainable and the gas-phase Hamiltonian generally remains applicable to complexes assembled within helium droplets.
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