Vibronic spectra and S1 excited electronic state molecular structures for acetyl chloride and acetyl fluoride

Vapor-state absorption spectra have been recorded for acetyl fluoride and acetyl chloride and also for deuterated derivatives with path lengths up to 40 m. The origins of the S₁S₀ transitions have been derived, together with the torsional-vibration energy levels in the ground state S₀ and excited singlet state S₁. Fitting the calculated and observed rotational contours of the vibronic bands has been used to estimate the geometrical parameters in the S₁ states. The carbonyl groups in the S₁ states are nonplanar. The internal-rotation potentials have been determined for acetyl fluoride and acetyl chloride in the S₁ and S₀ states. The relative intensities of the torsional transitions in those states indicate that the minima in the potential energy are appreciably displaced along the torsional coordinate in the S₀ and S₁ states.Chemical Faculty, Lomonosov Moscow University. Translated from Zhurnal Strukturnoi Khimii, Vol. 34, No. 1, pp. 26–30, January–February, 1993.