Vibrational states and optical transitions in hydrogen bonds

Proton energies in hydrogen bonds are mostly calculated using a double Morse potential (the DMP model). This form, however, does not reproduce the experimentally observed correlation between the proton stretching frequency and the bond length in an extended bond-length region sufficiently well. An alternative potential is proposed in the present paper. The quantum states of this non-symmetric double-well potential are calculated numerically using the Numerov (Fox-Goodwin) algorithm. It is shown that the optical spectra of hydrogen bonds in various substances can be well approximated on the basis of the transition frequencies and intensities predicted by the present model. For weakly interacting OH impurities in LiNbO3, the overtone spectrum and line intensities are well reproduced, whereas the line broadenings and the decrease of the fundamental stretching frequencies in intermediate and strong hydrogen bonds are traced back to the influence of the reduced height of the central barrier. The model is also extrapolated to the range of symmetric hydrogen bonds, and the calculated transition frequencies are discussed with respect to most recent infra-red experiments on ice under strong compression. A possible artificial infra-red signal from strained diamond anvils is thereby noted.