So I was having difficulty understanding IR spectroscopy and what Dr. M talked about on NMR and IR stuff in lab today. I couldn't understand what the graphs were supposed to mean and how we were supposed to interpret it. Upon a little extra reading from various different cites on IR spectroscopy, I pretty much get it now =)
IR Spectroscopy is used for identifying the types of functional groups present in a compound using the visible spectrum. The concept of this technique is that molecules that absorb light and specific frequencies have certain structural characteristics. These absorbed frequencies directly correspond to the type of bonding and the bond strength present between these molecules of the compound. How these frequencies are determined and how eventually the compound is identified is based on the type of vibrational mode a bond displays. In common organic compounds, these vibrational modes can be categorized into 6 vibrational modes which are symmetrical stretching, asymmetrical stretching, wagging, twisting, rocking and scissoring. Depending on the type of bonding present between the elements and also on the element itself plays an important role on the frequency, the wavelength, the absorption and how the data on that certain compound is displayed on a graph.
My sources:
http://www2.chemistry.msu.edu/faculty/reusch/VirtTxtJml/Spectrpy/InfraRed/infrared.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infrared_spectroscopy
One down, millions to go.... =|
