Rotational Spectrum, Structure, and Electric Dipole Moment of Bis(difluoromethyl) Ether

The rotational spectrum of bis(difluoromethyl) ether (CF2HOCF2H) has been observed and analyzed using both a conventional Stark-modulated microwave spectrometer and a pulsed molecular beam Fabry-Perot cavity microwave (FTMW) spectrometer. The lowest energy conformer studied here has a (hydrogen) syn-anti conformation. The high sensitivity of the FTMW spectrometer permits observation and analysis of the 13C, 18O, and 2H isotopomers in natural abundance. The electric dipole moment was measured for the normal species and found to be µa = 5.020(7) x 10(-30) C. m [1.505(2) D], µb = 0.19(4) x 10(-30) C. m [0.056(11) D], µc = 0.48(2) x 10(-30) C. m [0.144(7) D], and µT = 5.047(10) x 10(-30) C. m [1.513(3) D].