Hansen, A S, Huchmala, R M, Vogt, E, Boyer, M A, Bhagde, T, Vansco, M F, Jensen, C V, Kjærsgaard, A, Kjaergaard, H G, Mccoy, A B & Lester, M I 2021, ' Coupling of torsion and OH-stretching in tert-butyl hydroperoxide. I. The cold and warm first OH-stretching overtone spectrum ', The Journal of Chemical Physics, vol. 154, no. 16, 164306 . https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0048020
The infrared (IR) spectrum of tert-butyl hydroperoxide (TBHP) in the region of the first OH-stretching overtone has been observed under jet-cooled and thermal (300 K, 3 Torr) conditions at ∼7017 cm−1. The jet-cooled spectrum is recorded by IR multiphoton excitation with UV laser-induced fluorescence detection of OH radical products, while direct IR absorption is utilized under thermal conditions. Prior spectroscopic studies of TBHP and other hydroperoxides have shown that the OH-stretch and XOOH (X = H or C) torsion vibrations are strongly coupled, resulting in a double well potential associated with the torsional motion about the OO bond that is different for each of the OH-stretching vibrational states. A low barrier between the wells on the torsional potential results in tunneling split energy levels, which leads to four distinct transitions associated with excitation of the coupled OH-stretch-torsion states. In order to interpret the experimental results, two theoretical models are used that include the OH-stretch-torsion coupling in TBHP. Both methods are utilized to compute the vibrational transitions associated with the coupled OH-stretch-torsion states of TBHP, revealing the underlying transitions that compose the experimentally observed features. A comparison between theory and experiment illustrates the necessity for treatments that include OH-stretch and COOH torsion in order to unravel the spectral features observed in the first OH-stretching overtone region of TBHP.