Rotational spectroscopy and molecular structure of the 1-chloro-1-fluoroethylene-acetylene complex

Guided by ab initio calculations, Fourier transform microwave spectra in the 6-21 GHz region are obtained for seven isotopomers of the complex formed between 1-chloro-1-fluoroethylene and acetylene. These include the four possible combinations of (35)Cl- and (37)Cl-containing CH(2)CClF with the most abundant acetylene isotopic modification, HCCH, and its H(13)C(13)CH analogue, as well as three singly substituted deuterated isotopomers. Analysis of the spectra determines the rotational constants and additionally, the complete chlorine quadrupole hyperfine coupling tensors in both the inertial and principal electric field gradient axis systems, and where appropriate, the diagonal components of the deuterium quadrupole coupling tensors. The inertial information contained in the rotational constants provides the structure for CH(2)CClF-HCCH: a primary, hydrogen bonding interaction existing between the HCCH donor and the F atom acceptor on the 1-chloro-1-fluoroethylene moiety, while a secondary interaction occurs between the acetylenic bond on the HCCH molecule and the H atom cis to the hydrogen-bonded F atom on the substituted ethylene, which causes the hydrogen bond to deviate from linearity. This is similar to the structure obtained for 1,1-difluoroethylene-HCCH [H. O. Leung and M. D. Marshall, J. Chem. Phys. 126, 154301 (2006)], and indeed, to within experimental uncertainty, the intermolecular interactions in CH(2)CClF-HCCH and its 1,1-difluoroethylene counterpart are practically indistinguishable, even though ab initio calculations at the MP2∕6-311G++(2d, 2p) level suggest that the former complex is more strongly bound.