Molecular Spectroscopy and Structure

Rotational spectroscopy probes how molecules spin about their axes in the gas phase, and because rotational energy levels are exquisitely sensitive to atomic masses and bond geometry, the technique can pin down molecular structures with sub-angstrom precision. Modern approaches — chirped-pulse excitation and Fourier transform microwave methods — have pushed that capability into broadband, high-throughput measurements that capture entire rotational spectra in microseconds, revealing not just equilibrium geometries but also the fleeting conformers and torsional motions a molecule explores at room temperature. A central challenge is understanding how weak interactions like hydrogen bonds govern which conformations are actually populated, and why some molecules interconvert rapidly between forms while others are effectively locked into one shape. Ongoing work pushes toward larger, more flexible biomolecules and chiral systems where conformational dynamics and non-covalent interactions intersect in ways that simple static structure alone cannot explain.

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58,040

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745,985

Keywords

Rotational SpectroscopyMolecular StructureBroadband Microwave SpectroscopyGas PhaseHydrogen BondsConformational Dynamics