The microwave spectrum of difluoromethanimine, CF2=NH

Abstract

The microwave spectrum of a common decomposition product of CF2=NCl and CF2=NBr has been analyzed. The observed hyperfine structure requires the presence of 14N and the absence of Cl and Br in the molecule. The inertial defect establishes the planarity of the molecule. The observed rotational constants are A=11 464.024(4), B=11 151.892(4), and C=5643.146(4) MHz, which are very similar to those reported for CF2=O. The molecule is identified to be difluoromethanimine, CF2=NH. The dipole moment components were determined from the Stark effect to be |μa|=0.415(1), |μb|=1.330(1), and |μt|=1.393(1) D. The 14N quadrupole coupling constants are χaa=1.029(20), χbb=−2.560(17), and χcc =1.531(22) MHz. These data are compared to similar quantities for some corresponding molecules.