Spectroscopic detection of the stannylidene (H2C=Sn and D2C=Sn) molecule in the gas phase.

The H2CSn and D2CSn molecules have been detected for the first time by laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) and emission spectroscopic techniques through the B ̃ 1 B 2 − X ̃ 1 A 1 electronic transition in the 425–400 nm region. These reactive species were prepared in a pulsed electric discharge jet using (CH3)4Sn or (CD3)4Sn diluted in high-pressure argon. Transitions to the electronic excited state of the jet-cooled molecules were probed with LIF, and the ground state and low-lying A ̃ 1 A 2 state energy levels were measured from single vibronic level emission spectra. We supported the experimental studies by a variety of ab initio calculations that predicted the energies, geometries, and vibrational frequencies of the ground and lower excited electronic states. The spectroscopy of stannylidene (H2CSn) is in many aspects similar to that of silylidene (H2CSi) and germylidene (H2CGe). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]