THE MICROWAVE SPECTRUM OF GLYCOLALDEHYDE.

Abstract

Glycolaldehyde $(CHOCH_{2}OH)$ has been found to exist in an intramolecularly hydrogen bonded ring structure with a plane of symmetry. A large number of transitions have been assigned in the frequency range 8-18GHz for the normal species and for $CHOCH_{2}OD$. The rotational constants derived from these data are $A = 18,446.28 MHz, B = 6525.92, C = 4969.23$ for the normal and $A = 17491.15, B = 6499.57, C = 4883.10$ for the deuterated form. Five sets of lines due to excited vibrational states have also been assigned. Preliminary Stark effect measurements indicate $\mu_{a} = 0.50D$ and $\mu_{b} =2.38D$ are the dipole moment components.