The microwave spectrum of trifluoroacetonitrile in excited vibrational states

The microwave transitions J → J + 1 have been observed in the symmetric top molecule trifluoroacetonitrile, CF₃CN, for molecules excited into several of the low-lying vibrational states. Measurements made in the degenerate states v₇ = 1 v₈ = 1 have been fitted to the formula derived by Grenier-Besson and Amat (1) for transitions J → J + 1 in degenerate vibrational states of molecules with C_3v symmetry. The measurements for the state v₈ = 1 have been extended to 150 GHz where it is shown that the above formula becomes inadequate to describe accurately the observed spectrum.