Infrared-vacuum ultraviolet （IR-VUV） spectra of neutral trimethylamine dimer were mea- sured in the 2500-3800 cm-1 region. Quantum chemical calculations were performed to identify the structure of the low-lying isomers and to assign the observed spectral features. The bands at 2975 and 2949 cm-1 were assigned to the antisymmetric C-H stretching and the band at 2823 cm-1 to the symmetric C-H stretching, respectively. The 2739 cm-1 band was due to the CH3 bending overtone, which disappeared at low IR laser power of 1 mJ/mm2. The extra band at 2773 cm-1 could be due to Fermi resonance behavior of the light isotopologue, these are often close in energy and can strongly mix through cubic terms in the potential function. Experimental and theoretical results indicate the likely coexistence of multiple structures. The peak widths of IR spectra of neutral trimethylamine dimer are not significantly affected by the structural transformation, allowing the stretching modes to be well resolved.
The effect of solvation on the conformation of acetylene has been studied by adding one water molecule at a time. Quantum chemical calculations of the n＋ （C2H2）（H2O）n （n=1-5） clusters indicate that the H2O molecules prefer to form the OH...Tr interaction rather than the CH...O interaction. This solvation motif is different from that of neutral （C2H2）（H2O）n （n=1-4） clusters, in which the H2O molecules prefer to form the CH...O and OH...C Hbonds. For the H＋（C2H2）（H2O）n cationic clusters, the first solvation shell consists of one ring structure with two OH...Tr H-bonds and three water molecules, which is completed at n=4. Simulated infrared spectra reveal that vibrational frequencies of OH... H-bonded O-H stretching afford a sensitive probe for exploring the solvation of acetylene by protonated water molecules. Infrared spectra of the H＋ （C2H2）（H2O）n （n=1-5） clusters could be readily measured by the infrared photodissociation technique and thus provide useful information for the understanding of solvation processes.
