Abstract

The gas phase spectrum of the methyl nitrene radical was first observed by Carrick and Engleking¹and subsequently the first rotationally resolved spectrum was obtained by Carrick et al.²The use of the Kitt Peak Fourier transform spectrometer, to detect the emission from a corona excited supersonic expansion of methyl azaide in helium, yielded a rotationally resolved spectrum limited by Doppler broadening of 0.02 cm^-1. The transition, assigned as ${\tilde{\text{A}}}^3{\text{E-}\tilde{\text{X}}}^3{\text{A}}_2$analagous to the A³∏ −X³∑⁻band of NH, was still extremely complicated however. Due to the case (a) - case (b) nature of the transition 27 branches are allowed for each subband. Giving a total of 81 branches for the 0-1, 1-0 and 1-2 subbands, the only ones likely to be populated at 15 K the observed rotational temperature. Hence the observed transition is a many line spectrum with few branches discernable.

© 1989 Optical Society of America