The molecular conformation and dipole moment of thiane from the microwave spectrum

The microwave spectrum of thiane, a heterocyclic analog of cyclohexane, has been studied in the region 26.5–40 GHz. The molecule is a highly asymmetric rotor (κ = 0.050154). From the analysis of both the a-type and c-type transitions, the rotational constants determined are (in MHz): A = 3992.719, B = 3005.812, and C = 1914.683. A study of the Stark effect has yielded the dipole moment components (in Debye units) μ_a = 1.684 ± 0.009, μ_c = 0.578 ± 0.002, which give a total dipole moment of μ = 1.781 ± 0.010. Comparison of the spectral data from tetrahydropyran, thiane, and 1,4-thioxane demonstrates the similarity in structure of these three compounds. It is found that a very reasonable set of structural parameters can be found which adequately fits the spectral data of all three molecules.