Rotational spectroscopy of the large saturated dinitriles hexanedinitrile and heptanedinitrile

[Display omitted] •Rotational spectrum of hexanedinitrile and heptanedinitrile.•Three isomers observed for hexanedinitrile.•Six conformers detected for heptanedinitrile. Dinitriles with a saturated hydrocarbon skeleton and a –C≡N group at each end can have large electric dipole moments. Their formation can be related to highly reactive radicals such as CH2CN, C2N, or CN. Thus, these saturated dinitriles are potential candidates to be observed in the interstellar medium. In this work, two members of this family, hexanedinitrile and heptanedinitrile, have been investigated through their rotational spectra. The jet–cooled broadband chirped–pulse Fourier transform microwave spectra of both molecules were measured in the 2–8 GHz frequency region. Three and six conformers of hexanedinitrile and heptanedinitrile, respectively, were detected and assigned based on the rotational and quadrupole coupling constants.