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Updated: Jun 25, 2026

Determination of the Gas-phase Acidities of Oligopeptides
Published on: June 24, 2013
Fundamental and overtone vibrational spectra of gas-phase pyruvic acid
Kathryn L Plath1, Kaito Takahashi, Rex T Skodje
1Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Colorado, Campus Box 215, Boulder, Colorado 80309, USA.
Abstract:
Pyruvic acid (CH(3)COCOOH) is an important keto acid present in the atmosphere. In this study, the vibrational spectroscopy of gas-phase pyruvic acid has been investigated with special emphasis on the overtone transitions of the OH-stretch, with Delta v(OH) = 2, 4, 5. Assignments were made to fundamental and combination bands in the mid-IR. The two lowest energy rotational conformers of pyruvic acid are clearly observed in the spectrum. The lowest energy conformer possesses an intramolecular hydrogen bond, while the next lowest rotational conformer does not. This difference is clearly seen in the spectra of the OH vibrational overtone transitions, and it is reflected in the anharmonicities of the OH-stretching modes for each conformer. The spectra of the OH-stretching vibration for both conformers were investigated to establish the effect of the hydrogen bond on frequency, intensity, and line width.
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