Rotational Spectra of Argon Acetone: A Two-Top Internally Rotating Complex

The rotational spectra of the argon acetone weakly bound complex was studied by pulsed jet Fabry-Perot Fourier transform microwave spectroscopy. Over 500 transitions of the complex were measured between 5.5 and 26 GHz from J=2-1 to J=12-11. The two methyl groups undergo hindered internal rotation resulting in four or five internal rotation states. The microwave transitions are within these states, resulting in a splitting of each rotational transition into four and sometimes five distinct transitions. The three-fold barrier to internal rotation is determined to be 260 cm⁻¹, 2% less than the 266 cm⁻¹ barrier in acetone itself. The structure of the complex has the argon atom above the heavy atom plane of the acetone, 3.52 Å from the CO bond and approximately in the C_s plane, which is perpendicular to the CCC plane of acetone.