Infrared Spectroscopy

Infrared absorption spectroscopy has widespread applications to quantitative and qualitative analysis of compounds – particularly organic compounds.  Substances absorb and transmit different colors of light based on their molecular and electronic structure.  Peaks in the infrared spectrum indicate changes in the vibrational and / or rotational energy of the sample.  These peaks will provide concrete data about the structure of the molecule.  For example, if the IR spectrum of an unknown compound containing carbon and oxygen had a peak at 1800 cm ^–1, it would indicate a carbon – oxygen double bond.

At the CCBD we perform Infrared spectroscopy on two different time scales.  Using previously existing instrumentation we can perform infrared spectroscopy on a nanosecond time scale.   With the new equipment however, we are also able to perform infrared spectroscopy on a femtosecond resolved time scale.  This enables us to detect the presence of extremely short-lived intermediates and provides insight into the fundamental nature of chemical reactivity.