Supersonic molecular jet spectroscopy of ethylbenzene, the ethyltoluenes, and the diethylbenzenes

Abstract

Time-of-flight mass spectra are presented for the S1←S0 origin region of jet-cooled 1,2-, 1,3-, and 1,4-diethylbenzene, and 2-, 3-, and 4-ethyltoluene. The spectra for the diethylbenzenes exhibit two origins which are assigned to syn and anti conformations of the ethyl groups relative to the aromatic ring. The existence of two origins in the 1,3-diethylbenzene spectrum, and only one in the 3-ethyltoluene spectrum, strongly implies that the stable orientation of the ethyl groups is with the β-carbon atom of the ethyl group projecting perpendicular to the plane of the aromatic ring. The size and shape of the potential barrier to rotation of the ring methyl group is obtained by treating the methyl group as a one-dimensional rigid rotor and fitting the calculated energy levels to observed features in the spectra. The results (for the para isomer B=5.20 cm−1, V6=31.00 cm−1; for the meta isomer, B=5.40 cm−1, V3=78.00 cm−1; and for the ortho isomer, B=5.50 cm−1, V3=89.00 cm−1) indicate that the methyl group experiences an increased barrier to rotation in the order para<meta<ortho isomer.