Electronic selection rules polyatomics

Most stable polyatomic molecules whose absorption intensities are easily studied have filled-shell, totally synuuetric, singlet ground states. For absorption spectra starting from the ground state the electronic selection rules become simple transitions are allowed to excited singlet states having synuuetries the same as one of the coordinate axes, v, y or z. Other transitions should be relatively weak. 

The selection rule for vibronic states is then straightforward. It is obtained by exactly the same procedure as described above for the electronic selection rules. In particular, the lowest vibrational level of the ground electronic state of most stable polyatomic molecules will be totally synnnetric. Transitions originating in that vibronic level must go to an excited state vibronic level whose synnnetry is the same as one of the coordinates, v, y, or z. 

For polyatomic molecules, (7.2) and (7.6) give the wave numbers and transition moment for an electronic transition. Besides the S selection rule (7.7), there are electronic selection rules stating between which electronic symmetry species transitions are allowed these are derived using group theory (Section 9.11). Equation (7.13) applies to polyatomics, except that Pei is now a function of the 3N —6 (or 3Af —5) normal coordinates Qr... 

The electronic selection rule for nonzero electrostatic or nuclear kinetic energy coupling matrix elements is quite simple for diatomic molecules only states with identical electronic quantum numbers can perturb each other. For polyatomic molecules, the situation is not always so simple. It is possible that two electronic states will have different electronic quantum numbers in a high-... 

In non-linear polyatomic molecules the process of deterioration of quantum numbers continues to such an extent that only the total electron spin quantum number S remains. The selection rule... 

Electric-quadrupole transition, 123,127 Electromagnetic radiation, 114-117. See also Radiation, electromagnetic Electromagnetic spectrum, 115 Electronic energy, 57,64,148 Electronic spectra, 130, 296-314 of diatomics, 298-306 and molecular structure, 311 of polyatomics, 71-72, 73, 75, 306-314 selection rules for, 297-301, 306-307 Electronic structure of molecules, 56-76 Electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis (ESCA), 319-320 Electron spin resonance (ESR), 130, 366-381... 

We now consider the electric-dipole selection rules for radiative transitions between energy levels of the same electronic state of a polyatomic molecule. The electric-dipole transition moment is (4.91), which becomes... 

We now consider the rotational fine structure of gas-phase IR bands, beginning with linear molecules. For nearly all known linear polyatomic molecules, the ground electronic state is a 2 state and we do not have to worry about the interaction of rotational and electronic angular momenta. A linear molecule in a 2 electronic state is a symmetric top with 7 =0 the selection rules are [(6.76) and (6.77)]... 

First approximation theory leads to certain wave mechanical selection rules on the basis of which a radiative electronic transition may be classified as allowed (high probability) or forbidden (vanishingly low probability). Some forbidden transitions are indeed too weak to observe easily but in actual practice with polyatomic molecules the selection rules often break down sufficiently to permit reasonably strong absorption processes to occur. The following kinds of transition are forbidden... 

As is the case for diatomic molecules, rotational fine structure of electronic spectra of polyatomic molecules is very similar, in principle, to that of their infrared vibrational spectra. For linear, symmetric rotor, spherical rotor and asymmetric rotor molecules the selection rules are the same as those discussed in Sections 6.2.4.1 to 6.2.4.4. The major difference, in practice, is that, as for diatomics, there is likely to be a much larger change of geometry, and therefore of rotational constants, from one electronic state to another than from one vibrational state to another. 

The second problem relates to the inclusion, or otherwise, of molecular symmetry arguments. There is no avoiding the fact that an understanding of molecular symmetry presents a hurdle (although I think it is a low one) which must be surmounted if selection rules in vibrational and electronic spectroscopy of polyatomic molecules are to be understood. This book surmounts the hurdle in Chapter 4, which is devoted to molecular symmetry but which treats the subject in a non-mathematical way. For those lecturers and students who wish to leave out this chapter much of the subsequent material can be understood but, in some areas, in a less satisfying way. 

Electrons, protons and neutrons and all other particles that have 5 = are known as fermions. Other particles are restricted to 5 = 0 or 1 and are known as bosons. There are thus profound differences in the quantum-mechanical properties of fermions and bosons, which have important implications in fields ranging from statistical mechanics to spectroscopic selection rules. It can be shown that the spin quantum number S associated with an even number of fermions must be integral, while that for an odd number of them must be half-integral. The resulting composite particles behave collectively like bosons and fermions, respectively, so the wavefunction symmetry properties associated with bosons can be relevant in chemical physics. One prominent example is the treatment of nuclei, which are typically considered as composite particles rather than interacting protons and neutrons. Nuclei with even atomic number therefore behave like individual bosons and those with odd atomic number as fermions, a distinction that plays an important role in rotational spectroscopy of polyatomic molecules. 

According to the selection rule for the harmonic oscillator, any transitions corresponding to An = 1 are allowed (Sec. I-2). Under ordinary conditions, however, only the fundamentah that originate in the transition from u = 0 to u = 1 in the electronic ground state can be observed because of the Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution law. In addition to the selection rule for the harmonic oscillator, another restriction results from the symmetry of the molecule (Sec. 1-9). Thus the number of allowed transitions in polyatomic molecules is greatly reduced. The overtones and combination bands of these fundamentals are forbidden by the selection rule of the harmonic oscillator. However, they are weakly observed in the spectrum because of the anharmonicity of the vibration... 

D. The El selection rules in Eq. 2.78 indicate that there are no El-allowed transitions connecting any two of these levels with different L if the spin-orbit coupling is small. This is an example of a general rule that no El transitions connect two term symbols arising from the same electron configuration (in this case, p ). El-allowed transitions can, however, occur between states from different electron configurations, say s p p. This proves to be a useful principle that carries over to the electronic spectroscopy of diatomic and polyatomic molecules. 

As in diatomics, vibrational transitions in polyatomic molecules are inevitably accompanied by rotational fine structure. In linear molecules, the vibrational and rotational selection rules in vibration-rotation spectra are closely analogous to the electronic and rotational selection rules, respectively, in diatomic electronic band spectra. When applied to a molecule, the general symmetry arguments of the previous Section lead to the El selection rules... 

Many of the ideas that are essential to understanding polyatomic electronic spectra have already been developed in the three preceding chapters. As in diatomics, the Born-Oppenheimer separation between electronic and nuclear motions is a useful organizing principle for treating electronic transitions in polyatomics. Vibrational band intensities in polyatomic electronic spectra are frequently (but not always) governed by Franck-Condon factors in the vibrational modes. The rotational fine structure in gas-phase electronic transitions parallels that in polyatomic vibration-rotation spectra (Section 6.6), except that the rotational selection rules in symmetric and asymmetric tops now depend on the relative orientations of the electronic transition moment and the principal axes. Analyses of rotational contours in polyatomic band spectra thus provide valuable clues about the symmetry and assignment of the electronic states involved. 

The extension of overall electronic state symmetry to polyatomic molecules is straightforward. Individual MOs are labeled by the lowercase letters for the representations of the molecule s point group overall electronic state symmetries are labeled by the uppercase letter. Transitions between electronic states of a polyatomic molecule must obey the selection rules for the molecule s point group. 

As with diatomic molecules, vibrational and rotational transitions in polyatomic molecules take place along with electronic transitions. The Franck-Condon principle applies, so that the final state will usually be an excited vibrational state as well as an excited electronic state. Since there are several normal modes in any polyatomic molecule the simultaneous electronic, vibrational, and rotational transitions can give very complicated spectra. The most important selection rule is the same for all molecules and atoms The total spin quantum number is the same for the final as for the initial state ... 

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