High resolution infrared spectra of H2–Xe and D2–Xe van der Waals complexes

Abstract

Spectra of weakly-bound hydrogen–xenon complexes are studied in equilibrium gas mixtures at relatively high spectral resolution (0.04 cm−1) using a long-path (112 m), low-temperature (140 K) absorption cell and a Fourier transform infrared spectrometer. The data cover the regions of the H2 and D2 fundamental stretching vibrations in the mid-infrared (λ ∼ 2.4, 3.3 μm), and are greatly improved compared to the only previous observation. The results serve as a stringent experimental benchmark for testing theoretical hydrogen–xenon intermolecular potential energy models, as well as forming the basis for deriving an improved semi-empirical potential.