Resonant two-photon ionization (R2PI), UV hole-burning (UVHB), and resonant ion-dip infrared (RIDIR) spectroscopies have been used to record single-conformation infrared and ultraviolet spectra of three model synthetic foldamers with heterogeneous backbones, alpha/beta-peptides Ac-beta(3)-hAla-L-Phe-NHMe (betaalphaL), Ac-beta(3)-hAla-D-Phe-NHMe (betaalphaD), and Ac-L-Phe-beta(3)-hAla-NHMe (alphabetaL), isolated and cooled in a supersonic expansion. BetaalphaL and betaalphaD are diastereomers, differing only in the configuration of the alpha-amino acid residue; betaalphaL and alphabetaL contain the same residues, but differ in residue order. In all three alpha/beta-peptides the beta(3)-residue has S absolute configuration. UVHB spectroscopy is used to determine that there are six conformers of each molecule and to locate and characterize their S(0)-S(1) transitions in the origin region. RIDIR spectra in the amide NH stretch region reflect the number and strength of intramolecular H-bonds present. Comparison of the RIDIR spectra with scaled, harmonic vibrational frequencies and infrared intensities leads to definite assignments for the conformational families involved. C8/C7(eq) double-ring structures are responsible for three conformers of betaalphaL and four of betaalphaD, including those with the most intense transitions in the R2PI spectra. This preference for C8/C7(eq) double rings appears to be dictated by the C7(eq) ring of the alpha-peptide subunit. Three of the conformers of betaalphaL and betaalphaD form diastereomeric pairs (A/A', C/C', and G/G') that have nearly identical S(0)-S(1) origin positions in the UV and belong to the same conformational family, indicating no significant change associated with the change in chirality of the alpha-peptide subunit. However, betaalphaL favors formation of a C6/C5 conformer over C11, while the reverse preference holds in betaalphaD. Calculations indicate that the selective stabilization of the lowest-energy C11(g(+)) structure in betaalphaD occurs because this structure minimizes steric effects between the beta(2) methylene group and C=O(1). In the alpha/beta-peptide alphabetaL, two conformers dominate the spectrum, one assigned to a C5/C8 bifurcated double-ring, and the other to a C5/C6 double-ring structure. This preference for C5 rings in the alpha/beta-peptide occurs because the C5 ring is further stabilized by an amide NH...pi interaction involving an NH group on the adjacent amide, as it is in the alpha-peptides. Comparison of the NH stretch spectra of C8/C7(eq) structures in betaalphaL with their C7(eq)/C8 counterparts in alphabetaL shows that the central amide NH stretch is shifted to lower frequency by some 50-70 cm(-1) due to cooperative effects associated with the central amide accepting and donating a H-bond to neighboring amide groups. This swaps the ordering of the C8 and C7 NH stretch fundamentals in the two molecules.