Microwave spectra of cis and trans 2-furylisocyanate conformers

The microwave spectrum of 2-furylisocyanate has been obtained in the frequency region from 8 to 40 GHz. This spectrum is attributed to the ground state of the cis and trans configurations. The rotational constants for both ground vibrational states have been determined. Two sets of vibrational satellites are observed and assigned to the modes of C-N torsion and CNC bending. The microwave results show and MINDO/3 calculations confirm that the barrier between the cis and trans conformers is high and that the cis conformer is more stable than the trans by 3 kcal mol^?1.