Methyl barrier to internal rotation and evidence of torsion-torsion interaction in methyl thiolcyanoformate

The rotational spectrum of methyl thiolcyanoformate has been measured in the ground state and in four vibrationally excited states. The methyl group has the conformation syn with respect to the carbonyl group. The E component lines were assigned only in the ground state and the methyl group barrier to internal rotation has the value V₃ = 705 ± 20 cal/mole. The A species rotational transitions of the first excited state of the methyl and skeletal torsions do not follow a semirigid-rotor pattern probably because they strongly interact.