A study of the large amplitude motions of indoline through microwave spectroscopy and ab initio calculations. Evidence of ring puckering and butterfly motion coupling.

We report the gas phase microwave observation and subsequent analysis of the ring puckering level splitting of indoline and its N-D isotopomer. The spectra of the four lowest vibrational states are modelled through a two-dimensional vibrational Hamiltonian to furnish a coherent picture. According to this new picture, five-membered rings with a single double bond and five-membered rings in which the double bond is fused with a benzenic ring share a similar low ring puckering barrier. Discrepancies with previous work are ascribed to the use of a one-dimensional vibrational Hamiltonian. Ab initio calculations concur with the present analysis.