15min:

MOHAMMED A. GHARAIBEH, DENNIS J. CLOUTHIER, Department of Chemistry, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506-0055.

The electronic spectrum of the H₂PO radical has been identified by laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) and single vibronic level (SVL) emission techniques. The radical was produced in a pulsed electric discharge jet using a precursor mixture of phosphine (PH₃) and carbon dioxide in high-pressure argon and the B²A' - X²A' electronic transition was detected in the 410-338 nm region. Low resolution LIF and SVL emission spectra of H₂PO and D₂PO have been recorded and the a' vibrational frequencies have been determined in both states. High-resolution spectra of the 0₀⁰ bands of H₂PO and D₂PO, which consist of strong a-type and weaker c-type components, were recorded. The spectra have been rotationally analyzed and the excited state molecular structure determined. The spectrum of H₂PO will be discussed in comparison with the spectra of other phosphoryl and arsenyl radicals that have been recently studied in our laboratory.