The infrared and Raman spectra and structure of acrylamide

The infrared spectra of acrylamide and deuterated acrylamide have been studied between 4000 and 450 cm−1. The Raman spectra of approximately molar solutions of acrylamide in water and deuterium oxide were obtained from 250 to 3200 cm−1 and from 400 to 3200 cm−1, respectively. The results show that the structure of acrylamide can be consistently interpreted in terms of the amide structure CH2:CH·C(:O)·NH2 with no evidence for the possible tautomer CH2:CH·C(OH):NH. Simple molecular orbital calculations were made to estimate the strength of the (CN) and (CO) bonds. These results are compared with those obtained for formamide and acetamide in order to see the effect of the (CC) bond on the bonding in the rest of the molecule.