Knowledge Bank

The observed polarized components of the Raman spectra of $H2O$ and HOD in the OH stretching region have been decomposed into a superposition of symmetric bands. The digitally acquired data were corrected for instrumental effects. The initial estimates of the band parameters were made on the basis of the spectral features expected from two species of hydrogen bonded water molecules. These parameters were refined using a non-linear least squares procedure to give a best fit of the observed contours. The usefulness and limitations of this model will be discussed.