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Low-Temperature Infrared Spectroscopy Of H2 In Solid C60, Hugh O.H. Churchill

Honors Papers

Diffuse reflectance infrared spectroscopy is used to measure the quantum dynamics of molecular hydrogentrapped within a C60 lattice at temperatures as low as 10 K. Crystal field effects in conjunction with rotational translational coupling lead to a rich spectrum with multiply split peaks that are more than an order of magnitude sharper than at room temperature. The induced redshifts in the vibrational-rotational mode frequencies are explained using a simple model in which the state dependence of the H2 polarizability leads to changes in the C60-H2 interaction potential.