The Rotational Spectra of H2CCSi and H2C4Si

The microwave rotational spectra of two singlet chains H₂CCSi and H₂C₄Si, have been observed in a pulsed supersonic molecular beam by Fourier transform microwave spectroscopy. Following detection of the singly substituted rare isotopic species and D₂CCSi, an experimental structure (r₀) has been determined to high accuracy for H₂CCSi by isotopic substitution. In addition, the rotational transitions of the ²⁹Si and the two ¹³C isotopic species of H₂CCSi exhibit nuclear spin-rotation hyperfine structure. The component of the spin-rotation tensor along the a-inertial axis is abnormally large for each of these isotopic species, especially for that with ²⁹Si, where the magnitude of C_aa is in excess of 700 kHz.