Water-Induced Structural Changes in Crown Ethers from Broadband Rotational Spectroscopy

The complexes of 12-crown-4 ether (12C4) with water, generated in a supersonic jet, have been studied using broadband Fourier transform microwave spectroscopy. Three 1:1 and one 1:2 clusters have been observed and their structures unambiguously identified through the observation of isotopologue spectra. The structures of the clusters are based on networks of O–H···O and C–H···O hydrogen bonds. The most abundant 1:1 cluster is formed from the...