Abstract
From Raman spectra, the ${\nu}g$C=O frequencies of 4-substituted benzaldehydes were found to correlate with the ${\sigma}_p$ values of the 4-x atom or group as well as the acceptor number (AN) values of solvents. In various solvents, the ${\nu}g$C=O frequency of benzaldehyde decreased upon the increase of benzaldehyde concentration. This shift was mainly due to the hydrogen bonding between the carbonyl oxygen and/or aldehydic proton of benzaldehyde and the solvent molecules. Over the 1-80 volume % change, the ${\nu}g$C=O frequency of benzaldehyde down shifted from 1709.4 $cm^{-1}$ to 1700.2 $cm^{-1}$ in CCl4 solution and from 1703.0 $cm^{-1}$ to 1698.0 $cm^{-1}$ in $C_2H_5OH$ solution. This is due to the fact that hydrogen bonding between the benzaldehyde and C2H5OH was much stronger than that between the benzaldehyde and the other solvents.