Matrix-isolated OCS: The high resolution infrared spectra of a cryogenically solvated linear molecule

Spectra of the ν3 vibrational mode of OCS (around 2000 cm−1 ) isolated in solid Ar, Xe, and N2 at cryogenic temperatures and high dilution (1:50 000 typically) have been measured with an interferometric spectrometer at high resolution (0.01 cm−1 ). The spectra have in common a sharp feature (for any one isotopic form) to the red of a much broader feature. They differ in the way these features move and change width with changes in matrix temperature. The environment of the solute, which is deduced in detail in a companion paper, can be assigned to these features, implying that precision line shape measurements can be used to probe the immediate environment of a highly dilute solute. Applications of this technique to the study of photodissociation in cryogenic solids and to the study of diffusion are discussed.