On the interrelation between frequencies of stretching and bending vibrations in liquid water

The problem is investigated whether the distributions of bending frequencies P(vbend,T) of H2O molecules in the liquid could be calculated from statistical distributions P(vOH,T) of stretching frequencies on the basis of the empirical correlation established for their mean values. It is found that correlations of different kinds fail to reproduce real spectra. They result in a bending band that is too narrow and give rise to an Evans hole in the stretching band. This provides evidence of the strong intermolecular coupling of bending modes, which makes their frequencies statistically independent from stretching frequencies.