THE INFRARED SPECTRA OF MATRIX ISOLATED ALKALI METAL HYDROXIDES

Abstract

Author Institution: National Bureau of Standards, Washington, D.C.The infrared spectra of matrix isolated RbOH, RbOD, NaOH, and NaOD have been observed. Both the alkali metal oxygen stretch, $\nu_{1}$, and the bending mode, $\nu_{2}$, have been assigned for each species. Combination of the results of this study with the microwave measurements for RbOH and RbOD indicates an essentially linear structure for these species. The isotope shift observed for NaOH coupled with reasonable bond lengths indicates an equilibrium configuration of NaOH which probably does not deviate significantly from linearity. These results are consistent with our previously reported results for CsOH