RESUMO
Sulfur hexafluoride is an important molecule for modeling thermophysical and polarizability properties. It is also a potent greenhouse gas of anthropogenic origin, whose concentration in the atmosphere, although very low is increasing rapidly; its global warming power is mostly conferred by its strong infrared absorption in the ν3 S-F stretching region near 948 cm(-1). This heavy species, however, features many hot bands at room temperature (at which only 31% of the molecules lie in the ground vibrational state), especially those originating from the lowest, v6 = 1 vibrational state. Unfortunately, the ν6 band itself (near 347 cm(-1)), in the first approximation, is both infrared- and Raman-inactive, and no reliable spectroscopic information could be obtained up to now and this has precluded a correct modeling of the hot bands. It has been suggested theoretically and experimentally that this band might be slightly activated through Coriolis interaction with infrared-active fundamentals and appears in high pressure measurements as a very faint, unresolved band. Using a new cryogenic multipass cell with 93 m optical path length and regulated at 163 ± 2 K temperature, coupled to synchrotron radiation and a high resolution interferometer, the spectrum of the ν6 far-infrared region has been recorded. Low temperature was used to avoid the presence of hot bands. We are thus able to confirm that the small feature in this region, previously viewed at low-resolution, is indeed ν6. The fully resolved spectrum has been analyzed, thanks to the XTDS software package. The band appears to be activated by faint Coriolis interactions with the strong ν3 and ν4 fundamental bands, resulting in the appearance of a small first-order dipole moment term, inducing unusual selection rules. The band center (ν6 = 347.736707(35) cm(-1)) and rovibrational parameters are now accurately determined for the v6 = 1 level. The ν6 perturbation-induced dipole moment is estimated to be 33 ± 3 µD and the ν6 integrated intensity to be 0.0035 km mol(-1).
RESUMO
The correct interpretation of infrared (IR) observations of planetary atmospheres requires an accurate knowledge of temperature and partial and global pressures. Precise laboratory measurements of absorption intensities and line profiles, in the 200-350 K temperature range, are, therefore, critical. However, for gases only existing in complex chemical equilibria, such as nitrous or hypobromous acids, it is not possible to rely on absolute pressure measurements to measure absolute integrated optical absorption cross sections or IR line intensities. To overcome this difficulty, a novel dual-beam terahertz (THz)/mid-IR experimental setup has been developed, relying on the simultaneous use of two instruments. The setup involves a newly constructed temperature-controlled (200-350 K) cross-shaped absorption cell made of inert materials. The cell is traversed by the mid-IR beam from a high-resolution Fourier transform spectrometer using along a White-cell optical configuration providing absorption path lengths from 2.8 to 42 m and by a THz radiation beam (82.5 GHz to 1.1 THz), probing simultaneously the same gaseous sample. The THz channel records pure rotational lines of molecules for which the dipole moment was previously measured with high precision using Stark spectroscopy. This allows for a determination of the partial pressure in the gaseous mixture and enables absolute line intensities to be retrieved for the mid-IR range. This new instrument opens a new possibility for the retrieval of spectroscopic parameters for unstable molecules of atmospheric interest. The design and performance of the equipment are presented and illustrated by an example of simultaneous THz and mid-IR measurement on nitrous acid (HONO) equilibrium.