Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 18, 2026

Photoelectron Imaging of Anions Illustrated by 310 Nm Detachment of F−
Published on: July 27, 2018
Electronic spectrum of AuF: hyperfine structure of the [17.7]1 state
Benjamin J Knurr1, Elissa K Butler, Thomas D Varberg
1Department of Chemistry, Macalester College, 1600 Grand Avenue, St. Paul, Minnesota 55105, USA.
Abstract:
The [17.7]1-X(1)Sigma(+) (0,0) band of AuF at 566 nm has been studied by laser excitation spectroscopy. The molecule was prepared in a dc electric discharge by flowing a dilute mixture of SF(6) in argon through a hollow gold cathode. The rotational structure of the band has been analyzed for the first time, yielding accurate values for the rotational and Omega-type doubling constants of the upper state. Hyperfine splittings arising from both the (197)Au and (19)F nuclei have been resolved by recording the spectrum at sub-Doppler resolution using the technique of intermodulated fluorescence spectroscopy. The hyperfine structure is dominated by the (197)Au magnetic dipole interaction in the [17.7]1 state, with the (197)Au magnetic hyperfine constant determined to be h(1) = -543(4) MHz. It is demonstrated that the negative value of this constant implies that the [17.7]1 state has significant (3)Delta(1) character and that spin-orbit mixing with a (1)Pi(1) state may be providing the transition intensity to the ground electronic state.
Related Concept Videos
The Aufbau Principle and Hund's Rule
Atomic Spectroscopy: Absorption, Emission, and Fluorescence
UV–Vis Spectroscopy: Molecular Electronic Transitions
¹H NMR: Interpreting Distorted and Overlapping Signals
As Δν decreases and the signals move closer, the doublets appear increasingly distorted. The intensities of the inner lines increase at the cost of those of the outer lines as the signals are slanted or...
Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) Spectroscopy: Organic Radicals
Atomic Fluorescence Spectroscopy

