Microwave spectrum,dipole moment,and structure of anti-vinyl alcohol

The rotational spectra of the anti conformer of vinyl alcohol (ethenol, H₂CCHOH) and its OD modification have been studied by microwave spectroscopy. The compounds have been generated by very-low-pressure pyrolyses of the appropriate isotopic species of 3-thietanol. In both cases the 25 measured μ_a- and μ_b-type transitions allowed the rotational constants and all five quartic centrifugal distortion constants to be determined. Stark effect measurements have yielded the electic dipole moment: μ_a = 0.547(2), μ_b = 1.702(1), and μ = 1.788(1) D. By relative intensity measurements it has been found that the vibrational ground state of the anti conformer lies 4.5±0.6 kJ mol^?1 above the syn conformer. In addition, ab initio calculations at the 6–31G⁷ level have been performed to obtain the structure, relative energy, and dipole moment of both rotamers.