The rotational spectrum of bromoacetyl chloride

The rotational spectrum of bromoacetyl chloride, BrCH2COCl, has been assigned using a pulsed molecular beam Fourier transform microwave spectrometer. It has been possible to determine the rotational and quartic centrifugal distortion constants of the energetically favoured conformer (anti-periplanar) as well as the complete bromine and chlorine quadrupole coupling tensors including their off diagonal elements for the following isotopomers: 79BrCH2CO35Cl, 81BrCH2CO35Cl, 79BrCH2CO37Cl, and 81BrCH2CO37Cl. Experimental results are supported by quantum chemical calculations.