The microwave spectrum of cyanoformamide

The spectrum of cyanoformamide, NCCONH₂, has been measured between 18 and 40 GHz using a Hewlett-Packard spectrometer with Stark modulation. The molecule is somewhat unstable and could most conveniently be measured in a flow system. The quadrupole hyperfine structure due to the two nitrogen nuclei has been analyzed for the ground state, and quadrupole coupling constants, rotational constants, and centrifugal distortion constants have been determined for the ground state. A rough determination of the components of the electric dipole moment was possible from the Stark shifts of suitable transitions.