The infrared and Raman spectra of vapor, liquid, and solid state cyclopentane and its d(1), 1,1-d(2), 1,1,2,2,3,3-d(6), and d(10) isotopomers have been recorded and analyzed. The experimental work was complemented by ab initio and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The computations confirm that the two conformational forms of cyclopentane are the twist (C(2)) and bent (C(s)) structures and that they differ very little in energy, less than about 10 cm(-1) (0.1 kJ/mol). The bending angle for the C(s) form is 41.5° and the dihedral angle of twisting is 43.2° for the C(2) form. A reliable and complete vibrational assignment for each of the isotopomers has been achieved for the first time, and these agree very well with the DFT (B3LYP/cc-pVTZ) computations. The ab initio CCSD/cc-pVTZ calculations predict a barrier to planarity of 1887 cm(-1), which is in excellent agreement with the experimental value of 1808 cm(-1).

Raman spectroscopy is a powerful tool for molecular chemical analysis and bioimaging, which shows an astonishing sensitivity when combined with a huge enhancement by the coherence and surface effects. Noble metal nanoparticles have been commonly used for the spontaneous surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) and for the surface-enhanced coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (SECARS) spectroscopies, as they provide large enhancement factors via the electromagnetic and chemical mechanisms. Recently, two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors, such as monolayer molybdenum disulfide (MoS2), were used for potential SERS applications as cheaper substrates compared to noble metal nanoparticles. However, the coherent enhancement of SECARS on 2D materials has not been previously explored. Here we present the experimental SECARS measurements of pyridine–ethanol solutions containing 2D MoS2 nanocrystals with the giant chemical enhancement factor of 109 over coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS), which is attributed to the charge transfer states and resonant MoS2 excitation. As a comparison, the SERS signals on MoS2 using incoherent nonresonant excitation show at least 2 orders of magnitude smaller enhancement. Time-resolved SECARS measurements directly reveal the increased vibrational dephasing rates, which provide strong evidence for the charge transfer in the pyridine–ethanol–MoS2 system.

The vapor-phase infrared and Raman spectra of 3-cyclopenten-1-ol (3CPOL) have been collected at temperatures ranging from 25 to 267 degrees C. These clearly show the presence of four conformations of 3CPOL with the one with intramolecular pi-type hydrogen bonding being most abundant. The spectra of all four conformations have been assigned, and these agree well with the computed values from the DFT calculation. The frequency shifts observed for the different conformations are in accord with the predicted values. In the O-H stretching region the conformer A with the pi-type intramolecular hydrogen bond has the lowest stretching frequency at 3623.4 cm(-1) while the three higher energy conformers have frequencies 14.2, 32.0, and 36 cm(-1) higher. In the C=C stretching region conformer A again has the lowest frequency at 1607.3 cm(-1) while the other conformers have bands 2.1, 8.0, and 13.4 cm(-1) lower. Both the O-H stretching and the C=C stretching force constants are decreased about 2% by the hydrogen bonding. Five of the other vibrations show significant predicted frequency shifts up to 193 cm(-1). Analysis of intensity data at different temperatures was used to calculate the energy difference between the two most stable conformers. This was found to be 435 +/- 160 cm(-1), and the result agrees reasonably well with the high level ab initio results which range from 274 to 401 cm(-1).

The vapor-phase Raman spectra of cis- and trans-stilbene have been collected at high temperatures and assigned. The low-frequency skeletal modes were of special interest. The molecular structures and vibrational frequencies of both molecules have also been obtained using MP2/cc-pVTZ and B3LYP/cc-pVTZ calculations, respectively. The two-dimensional potential map for the internal rotations around the two Cphenyl-C(═C) bonds of cis-stilbene was generated by using a series of B3LYP/cc-pVTZ calculations. It was confirmed that the molecule has only one conformer with C2 symmetry. The energy level calculation with a two-dimensional Hamiltonian was carried out, and the probability distribution for each level was obtained. The calculation revealed that the "gearing" internal rotation in which the two phenyl rings rotate with opposite directions has a vibrational frequency of 26 cm(-1), whereas that of the "antigearing" internal rotation in which the phenyl rings rotate with the same direction is about 52 cm(-1). In the low vibrational energy region the probability distribution for the gearing internal rotation is similar to that of a one-dimensional harmonic oscillator, and in the higher region the motion behaves like that of a free rotor.

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