Description of Research
Tunable lasers are used to study the visible spectra of vibrational overtones (Delta v=5,6,7,etc.) in molecules with X-H bonds (X=C,N,O,S, etc.). These high overtones absorb only weakly, and the powerful light of the laser is needed for the studies. The overtone energies are sensitive to the local environment, with electronic interactions causing measurable shifts in absorption energies. The effects of molecular conformation on the overtone energies are also observed. This sensitivity to the local environment allows overtone spectroscopy to probe directly the bond strength, thus providing a link between molecular structure and chemical reactivity.
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