MATRIX-ISOLATED OCS - THE HIGH-RESOLUTION INFRARED-SPECTRA OF A CRYOGENICALLY SOLVATED LINEAR MOLECULE

Spectra of the nu-3 vibrational mode of OCS (around 2000 cm-1) isolated in solid Ar, Xe, and N2 at cryogenic temperatures and high dilution (1:50 000 typically) have been measured with an interferometric spectrometer at high resolution (0.01 cm-1). The spectra have in common a sharp feature (for any one isotopic form) to the red of a much broader feature. They differ in the way these features move and change width with changes in matrix temperature. The environment of the solute, which is deduced in detail in a companion paper, can be assigned to these features, implying that precision line shape measurements can be used to probe the immediate environment of a highly dilute solute. Applications of this technique to the study of photodissociation in cryogenic solids and to the study of diffusion are discussed.