15min:

N. R. WALKER, S. L. STEPHENS, W. MIZUKAMI, D. P. TEW AND A. C. LEGON, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 1TS, U.K..

The pure rotational spectrum of the vibrational ground state of H₃P AgI has been measured by chirped-pulse FTMW spectroscopy. The complex is generated via laser ablation (532 nm) of a silver rod in the presence of CF₃I, PH₃ and argon. It is subsequently stabilized and interrogated in the cold environment of a supersonic jet. The rotational constant, B ₀, and the centrifugal distortion constant, D _ J , have been measured for H₃P ¹⁰⁷AgI and H₃P ¹⁰⁹AgI. The spectrum of the complex is consistent with a C _3v geometry and a linear arrangement of the P, Ag and C atoms. The measured rotational constants allow a preliminary determination of the geometry of the molecule. The nuclear quadrupole coupling constant of the iodine atom, _aa(I) , is also established. The experimental results are compared with theory performed at the explicitly-correlated coupled-cluster singles, doubles and perturbative triples level.