14N Nuclear Quadrupole Hyperfine Structure in the Microwave Spectrum of Methyl Azide, CH3N3

Abstract

Abstract The 14N nuclear quadrupole hyperfine structure in the rotational spectra of three isotopic species of methyl azide, CH3 14N3, CH3 15N14N2, and CH3 14N2 15N, has been resolved using microwave Fourier transform spectroscopy. The quadrupole coupling constants of 14N at all three positions have been evaluated and are compared with those from an ab initio calculation in the literature. Since the spectra of the substituted species have been obtained for the first time, they have provided new structural information: the rotational constants are consistent with a structure in which the NNN chain is slightly bent.