Far-infrared laser magnetic resonance spectrum of CH 2F

Laser magnetic resonance rotational spectra of the free radical CH ₂F have been obtained using far-infrared laser lines at 301.3, 393.6, 513.0, and 567.9 μm. The radical was prepared under fast-flow conditions by fluorine atom abstraction of a hydrogen from methyl fluoride and by fluorine atom addition to diazomethane. The spectra obtained are too crowded and overlapped to permit significant spectroscopic analysis, but they do support a planar C_{2 v} structure for CH ₂F and lead to a value of ( B + C) = 1.953 ± 0.015 cm ^-1.