The electronic spectrum of tellurium dioxide

The electronic spectrum of gas-phase tellurium dioxide has been recorded between 345 and 406 nm using the technique of laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy. The TeO2 sample was prepared by direct heating of the solid and by seeding it in a continuous free-jet expansion in argon. Twenty-seven cold bands and thirty-two hot bands were assigned. The wavenumbers of the band origin and symmetric stretching and bending vibrational modes fbr the upper and lower states were determined in a simple least-squares fit: v(0) = 25526 cm(-1), omega(1)' = 679 cm(-1), omega(2)' = 220 cm(-1), omega(1)" = 823 cm(-1), omega(2)" = 282 cm(-1). (C) 2000 Academic Press.