Infrared cavity ringdown spectroscopy of water clusters: O-D stretching bands

The infrared O-D stretching spectrum of fully deuterated jet-cooled water c lusters is reported. Sequential red-shifts in the single donor O-D stretche s, which characterize the cooperative effects in the hydrogen bond network, were accurately measured for clusters up to (D2O)(8). Detailed comparisons with corresponding data obtained for (H2O)(n) clusters are presented. Addi tionally, rotational analyses of two D2O dimer bands are presented. These m easurements were made possible by the advent of infrared cavity ringdown la ser absorption spectroscopy (IR-CRLAS) using Raman-shifted pulsed dye laser s, which creates many new opportunities for gas phase IR spectroscopy. (C) 1998 American Institute of Physics. [S0021-9606(98)00847-2].