FT-IR, Raman and NMR Spectra, Molecular Geometry, Vibrational Assignments, ab initio and Density Functional Theory Calculations for Diethyl Phthalate

Phthalate acid esters (PAEs) possess endocrine disruptive effects and can produce reproductive and developmental toxicities. In this paper, both experimental and theoretical studies on FT-IR, Raman and 1H NMR spectra of diethyl phthalate (DEP) have been carried out. The geometrical structure of DEP was optimized at the HF/6-31G*, HF/6-311G**, B3LYP/6-31G*, and B3LYP/6-311G** levels, respectively. The harmonic vibrational frequencies, IR intensity, Raman activity and 1H NMR chemical shifts have been computed at the B3LYP/6-31G* and B3LYP/6-311G** levels. Anharmonic corrections to frequencies were obtained by means of second-order perturbation theory (PT2) at the B3LYP/6-31G* level. Based on potential energy distribution (PED), the vibrational assignments have also been performed. The theoretical calculation values were compared with the experimental observations and the results indicate they are in excellent agreement.