Knowledge Bank

Following previous microwave investigations by Suenram \textit{et al.}$~OSU~Int.~Symp.~On~Mol.~Spectrosc.\},\; Columbus,\; OH,\; 1999,\; RB07\}\; we\; will\; report\; on\; the\; rotational\; spectrum\; of\; several\; halogenated\; ethers\; used\; as\; volatile\; anaesthetics,\; including\; sevoflurane\; ((CF$_3$)$_2$CH-O-CH$_2$F),isoflurane(CF$_3$CHCl-O-CHF$_2$),enflurane(CHFClCF$_2$-O-CHF$_2$)andmethoxyflurane(CHCl$_2$CF$_2$-O-CH$_3$).Thisstudyhasbeenconductedinthe6-18GHzcentimetre-waveregionusingBalle-Flygare-typeFT-microwavespectroscopy.Theresultswillincludetheanalysisoftherotationalspectraofminorspeciesinnaturalabundance($^{13}$C and $\mathrm{<mrow\; data-mjx-texclass="ORD">18</mrow>}$O in some cases), structural calculations and auxiliary \it ab initio \rm modelling. The conformational and structural conclusions will be compared with previous gas-phase electron diffraction and solid-state X-ray diffraction analysis.