Vacuum-Ultraviolet Study of Liquid H2O and D2O

Abstract
Vacuum‐ultraviolet spectra of liquid D2O and H2O have been obtained at several temperatures in the wavelength range 1300–1750 Å. Because of the very large extinction coefficient of water in this region, the absorption spectra were obtained from very thin liquid films. The results show that the vapor–liquid shift is to the blue by some 7000 cm−1. The spectra are discussed in terms of the effect of temperature on hydrogen‐bonding properties of the liquids in the ground state and the nature of the electronic transitions from which they arise.