Low frequency Raman spectra of the liquid and plastic crystal phases of O2, N2, CO, and of Ar crystals with these molecules as guests

Abstract

Low frequency Raman spectra of single crystals of orientationally disordered phases of oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon monoxide, and spectra of those substances as liquids show two linear segments in semi-log plots. Slopes of the higher frequency segments are nearly equal for all cases; slopes of the lower frequency segments are particular to the substance and are nearly the same in both liquid and crystal for O2 and CO. Spectra of single crystals of argon doped with O2, N2, or CO show two distinct features superimposed on a sloping background. Impurity molecule reorientation apparently accounts satisfactorily for all spectral features, but translation–rotation coupling may allow a contribution to the higher frequency feature arising from a local phonon mode in argon.