An investigation of the structure of butadiene by high resolution infra-red and raman spectroscopy

The rotational Raman spectra of butadiene and butadiene-d₆ are found to consist of discrete lines having small ≈0·4 cm⁻¹) yet almost constant spacings, as would be expected for symmetric or nearly symmetric top molecules. An infra-red absorption band (Type C) of butadiene at 908 cm⁻¹ is observed to have a spacing of about 2·5 cm⁻¹. Both the Raman and infra-red spectra provide evidence for the trans structure of the butadiene molecule. From the rotational constants A″ and ″ the following structural parameters were obtained: C=C---C) = 122·9 ± 0·5° rC---C) = 1·47₆ ± 0·010 Å dy]somewhat shorter than recently determined from electron-diffraction experiments).