REACTIONS OF PULSED-LASER-EVAPORATED BE ATOMS WITH CO2 - INFRARED-SPECTRA OF OCBEO AND COBEO IN SOLID ARGON

Pulsed-laser-evaporated Be atoms and CO2 react during condensation in excess argon to form CO, ArBeO, BeOBe, and two new molecules with CO and BeO stretching absorptions. Ab initio calculations at the MBPT(2) level reveal two stable isomeric products OC-BeO and CO-BeO and predict vibrational frequencies. The OC-BeO and CO-BeO molecules are identified by matching calculated and observed 16/18 and 12/13 isotopic frequency ratios in both submolecule stretching fundamentals. The BeO molecule is an extremely strong Lewis acid as attested by the formation of ArBeO and the blue shift in the CO fundamental for OC-BeO.