Infrared absorption of gaseous benzoyl radical C6H5CO recorded with a step-scan Fourier-transform spectrometer.

A step-scan Fourier-transform infrared spectrometer coupled with a multipass absorption cell was utilized to monitor the gaseous transient species benzoyl radical, C(6)H(5)CO. C(6)H(5)CO was produced either from photolysis of acetophenone, C(6)H(5)C(O)CH(3), at 248 nm or in reactions of phenyl radical (C(6)H(5)) with CO; C(6)H(5) was produced on photolysis of C(6)H(5)Br at 248 nm. One intense band at 1838 ± 1 cm(-1), one weak band at 1131 ± 3 cm(-1), and two extremely weak bands at 1438 ± 5 and 1590 ± 10 cm(-1) are assigned to the C═O stretching (ν(6)), the C-C stretching mixed with C-H deformation (ν(15)), the out-of-phase C(1)C(2)C(3)/C(5)C(6)C(1) symmetric stretching (ν(10)), and the in-phase C(1)C(2)C(3)/C(4)C(5)C(6) antisymmetric stretching (ν(7)) modes of C(6)H(5)CO, respectively. These observed vibrational wavenumbers and relative IR intensities agree with those reported for C(6)H(5)CO isolated in solid Ar and with values predicted for C(6)H(5)CO with the B3LYP/aug-cc-pVDZ method. The rotational contours of the two bands near 1838 and 1131 cm(-1) simulated according to rotational parameters predicted with the B3LYP/aug-cc-pVDZ method fit satisfactorily with the experimental results. Additional products BrCO, C(6)H(5)C(O)Br, and C(6)H(5)C(O)C(6)H(5) were identified in the C(6)H(5)Br/CO/N(2) experiments; the kinetics involving C(6)H(5)CO and C(6)H(5)C(O)Br are discussed.