title: Infrared and Raman spectra, theoretical calculations, conformations, and two-dimensional potential energy surface of 2-cyclopenten-1-one ethylene ketal.
abstract: The infrared and Raman spectra of the bicyclic spiro molecule 2-cyclopenten-1-one ethylene ketal (CEK) have been recorded. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations were used to compute the theoretical spectra, and these agree well with the experimental spectra. The structures and conformational energies for the two pairs of conformational minima, which can be defined in terms of ring-bending (x) and ring-twisting (τ) vibrational coordinates, have also been calculated. Utilizing the results from ab initio MP2/cc-PVTZ computations, a two-dimensional potential energy surface (PES) was calculated. The energy levels and wave functions for this PES were then calculated, and the characteristics of these were analyzed. At lower energies, all of the quantum states are doubly degenerate and correspond to either the lower-energy conformation L or to conformation H, which is 154 cm(-1) higher in energy. At energies above the barrier to interconversion of 264 cm(-1), the wave functions show that the quantum levels have significant probabilities for both conformations.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Texas A&M University , College Station, Texas 77843-3255 United States.
authors.forename: Hong-Li
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Sheu
authors.forename: Niklas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Meinander
authors.forename: Jaan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Laane