Spectroscopy and electronic structure of jet-cooled NiCu

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Abstract
Diatomic nickel–copper, NiCu, has been investigated by resonant two-photon ionization spectroscopy in a jet-cooled molecular beam. Six band systems have been identified over the range 11 500–16 500 cm−1. The ground state of NiCu has been determined to be X 2Δ5/2, with ω″e =273.01±1.15 cm−1, ω″ex″e =1.00±0.38 cm−1, and r″e =2.233±0.006 Å. This state derives from a strongly bound (2.05±0.10 eV) 3d10Cu3d9Ni 4sσ2 configuration. Excited states observed in this work derive from the more weakly bound 3d10Cu3d8Ni 4sσ24sσ*1 configuration, and are characterized by smaller vibrational frequencies (191–208 cm−1) and a longer bond length (2.351±0.005 Å) than the ground X 2Δ5/2 state.