Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 13, 2025

Author Spotlight: Experimental Approaches for the Synthesis of Low-Valent Metal-Organic Frameworks from Multitopic Phosphine Linkers
Published on: May 12, 2023
The structure and low-barrier methyl torsion of 3-fluorotoluene
K P Rajappan Nair1, Sven Herbers2, Ha Vinh Lam Nguyen3
1Institut für Physikalische Chemie und Elektrochemie, Gottfried-Wilhelm-Leibniz-Universität Hannover, Callinstraße 3A, 30167 Hannover, Germany; Department of Atomic and Molecular Physics, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal 576104, India.
Abstract:
The rotational spectra of 3-fluorotoluene and its seven 13C isotopic species have been recorded at natural abundance in the frequency range from 4 to 26 GHz using a pulsed molecular jet Fourier transform microwave spectrometer. The molecular structure comprising bond lengths and angles as well as parameters describing the methyl torsion were determined with high accuracy. Due to the very low torsional barrier of 17 cm-1, the lowest torsional states of the vibrational ground state exhibited large splittings in the spectrum, which were modeled satisfactorily with a modified version of the program XIAM and the program aixPAM, both developed to treat the methyl internal rotation effects. They were also applied to refit the microwave data of 3,4-difluorotoluene to standard deviations close to measurement accuracy.
More Related Videos
08:43Protocol for the Synthesis of Ortho-trifluoromethoxylated Aniline Derivatives
Published on: January 19, 2016
10:10Application of Elemental Lanthanides in the Selective C-F Activation of Trifluoromethylated Benzofulvenes Providing Access to Various Difluoroalkenes
Published on: July 28, 2018
Related Concept Videos
Predicting Molecular Geometry
Electrophilic Aromatic Substitution: Fluorination and Iodination of Benzene
Hybridization of Atomic Orbitals I
VSEPR Theory and the Effect of Lone Pairs
Molecular Shape and Polarity
Radicals: Electronic Structure and Geometry
Accordingly, the structure of a trivalent radical lies between the geometries of carbocations and carbanions. An sp2-hybridized carbocation is trigonal planar, while an sp3-hybridized carbanion is trigonal pyramidal. Here, the difference in geometry is...