Subtractively normalized interfacial Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (SNIFTIRS) has been employed to study the conformation of 2,2＇-bipyridine (22BPY) adsorbed at the Au(111) electrode surface. in addition, ab initio Hartree-Fock calculations were carried out to calculate the IR spectra for the trans-planar, cis-planar, and twisted conformations both for an isolated 22BPY molecule and for the molecule attached to a gold atom or ion. The spectra for the trans- and the cis-conformations were predicted to be distinctly different. The differences between the predicted spectra and the differences for most structural parameters between the cis-planar conformer and the torsional conformations with a twist of 0 degrees to 40 degrees between the two rings were small. SNIFTIRS spectra with a good signal to-noise ratio were measured only for those potentials where the 22BPY molecules associate into stacks. Efficient packing into stacks requires a planar or very nearly planar conformation for the 22BPY molecules. For these potentials, the SNIFTIRS spectra provided direct evidence that 22BPY molecules coordinated to the surface gold atoms assume a cis- or nearly cis-conformation.