Microwave studies of 17O methanol

Abstract

A Stark-modulation microwave spectrometer was constructed including the necessary vacuum line and microwave detection system. The microwave spectrum of 17O methanol was then studied in the 28 to 33 GHZ and the 44 to 51 GHZ regions in an effort to learn more about the rotational and torsional energy level structure of the molecule. The quantum mechanics of molecular rotation and angular momentum in particular were explored along with a physical phenomenon known as the Stark effect. The frequencies of many previously unpublished lines were measured using the assembled apparatus and all possible assignments of quantum numbers made based on Stark splittings. The component of the dipole moment along the a-axis of the molecule (μa) in its first excited torsional state was calculated based on observed Stark shifts of the various M components for the J(K) = 2(0) - 3(1) El, b-type transition.