trans-Formanilide: On the properties of state from high resolution electronic spectroscopy and ab initio calculations

High resolution molecular beam electronic spectroscopy has been used to obtain new experimental data on trans-formanilide first singlet electronic excited state. Experimental information was compared with ab initio calculations at different level of theory. A more clear understanding of trans-formanilide excited state properties came out in a comparison to the closely related aniline molecule.