Note to users. If you're seeing this message, it means that your browser cannot find this page's style/presentation instructions -- or possibly that you are using a browser that does not support current Web standards. Find out more about why this message is appearing, and what you can do to make your experience of our site the best it can be.

Science 25 September 1992:
Vol. 257. no. 5078, pp. 1937 - 1940
DOI: 10.1126/science.1411509
Prev | Table of Contents | Next

Articles

Science, Vol 257, Issue 5078, 1937-1940
Copyright © 1992 by American Association for the Advancement of Science

articles

Measurement of quantum tunneling between chiral isomers of the cyclic water trimer

N Pugliano and RJ Saykally

Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley 94720.

A detailed experimental study of the water trimer is reported. A vibration-rotation-tunneling band of the perdeuterated cluster has been measured near 89.6 wave numbers by tunable far infrared laser absorption spectroscopy. The data indicate a chiral six-membered ring structure with rapid quantum tunneling occurring between the enantiomers. The observed vibration involves torsional motion of the water subunits about each hydrogen bond axis. It is speculated that larger water clusters would also exhibit transient chirality and that similar effects may be found in liquid water.


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Formation of Cyclic Water Hexamer in Liquid Helium: The Smallest Piece of Ice.
K. Nauta and R. E. Miller (2000)
Science 287, 293-295
   Abstract »    Full Text »
Size-Specific Infrared Spectra of Benzene-(H2O)n Clusters (n = 1 through 7): Evidence for Noncyclic (H2O)n Structures.
R. N. Pribble and T. S. Zwier (1994)
Science 265, 75-79
   Abstract »    PDF »
Molecular Interactions and Hydrogen Bond Tunneling Dynamics: Some New Perspectives.
R. J. Saykally and G. A. Blake (1993)
Science 259, 1570-1575
   Abstract »    PDF »
Inaugural Article: Water clusters: Untangling the mysteries of the liquid, one molecule at a time.
F. N. Keutsch and R. J. Saykally (2001)
PNAS 98, 10533-10540
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »


To Advertise     Find Products

Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)