Oxygen-17 hyperfine structures in the pure rotational spectra of SrO, SnO, BaO, HfO and ThO

Hyperfine structures arising from the couplings of the nuclear spin angular momentum of ¹⁷O (I = 5/2) with the end over end rotation of several metal-containing diatomic monoxides have been observed using a Fourier transform microwave spectrometer. The molecules have been produced by reacting ¹⁷O₂ with laser ablated metal atoms. The oxygen-17 nuclear quadrupole coupling constants have been determined for the title molecules and are interpreted in terms of a simple Townes-Dailey model. Also, the oxygen-17 nuclear spin-rotation constants have been determined and used to calculate the oxygen-17 shieldings for each molecule.