Structural studies of aromatic carboxylic acids via computational chemistry and microwave spectroscopy.

The structures of three simple aromatic carboxylic acids: benzoic, isophthalic, and terephthalic have been investigated using a combination of theoretical high-level quantum chemical calculations and experimental millimeter-wave Stark-modulated free-jet absorption spectroscopy. Rotational and centrifugal distortion constants have been measured for one conformer of each of the species and for its -COOD isotopologue, leading to the experimental determination of the coordinates of the carboxyl hydrogen atom. Consideration of the observed inertial defect is consistent with a planar equilibrium structure for each species. Calculated structures, relative energies, and electric dipole moments, using ab initio methods at the MP2/cc-pVTZ level, are reported for all the lower-energy conformers of each species. The theoretical calculations lead to the unambiguous identification of the conformers involved in the observed microwave spectra. The match between theoretical and spectroscopic measurements was used to gauge the reliability of the quantum chemical structure optimization calculations.