ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY - INFRARED SPECTROSCOPY

Commonly referred to as IR spectroscopy, this technique allows chemists to identify characteristic groups of atoms (functional groups) present in molecules.

C H C H C C THE FINGERPRINT REGION - 1500CM-1 TO 500CM-1

Stretch Stretch Stretch The fingerprint region of the spectrum contains a complex set of
absorptions, which are unique to each compound. Though these are
M M M hard to interpret visually, by comparison with references they allow
identification of specific compounds.
ALKENE ALDEHYDE ALKENE
AROMATICS

C H C H C C C O C C C O C X
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N S M W S M S M
ALKYNE ALKANE ALKYNE CARBONYLS AROMATICS ESTERS, ETHERS, ALCOHOLS, ALKYL CHLORIDE (850-550)
CARBOXYLIC ACIDS ALKYL BROMIDE (690-515)

ACID

N H C N N H C H C H C H C H
Stretch Stretch ANHYDRIDE Bend Bend, Rock Wag Bend Bend

M V M M M S S B
ACYL CHLORIDE
1& 2AMINE NITRILE 1AMINE ALKANE HALOALKANE ALKENE ALKENE
AMIDE

ESTER

O H O H N O N O C N O H N H
Stretch Stretch AMIDE Asymm. Stretch Symm. Stretch Stretch Bend Wag

S B V B S M V M S B
ALDEHYDE
ALCOHOLS CARBOXYLIC ACIDS NITRO NITRO ALIPHATIC CARBOXYLIC 1& 2AMINE
& KETONE
PHENOLS COMPOUND COMPOUND AMINES ACID

3600 3400 3200 3000 2800 2600 2400 2200 2000 1900 1800 1700 1600 1500 1400 1300 1200 1100 1000 900 800 700 600 500

FREQUENCY/WAVENUMBER OF ABSORPTION (CM-1) Key: S STRONG M MEDIUM W WEAK B BROAD N NARROW V VARIABLE

Infrared frequencies make up a portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. If a range of infrared frequencies are shone through an organic compound, some of the frequencies are
absorbed by the chemical bonds within the compound. Different chemical bonds absorb different frequencies of infrared radiation. There are a number of characteristic absorptions
which allow functional groups (the parts of a compound which give it its particular reactivity) to be identified. This graphic shows a number of these absorptions.

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