Department of Materials Science and Engineering

The Bruker Infared Spectrometer can be used to identify functional structural groups within the mid-IR range of approximately 4000-400 cm^-1 (30–1.4 μm) and the far-IR range of approximately 400-10 cm^-1 (1000–30 μm). Infared light is shone through a sample over the appropriate range as as the wavenumber changes, the molecules react differently. Molecules have specific frequencies at which they rotate of vibrate that correspond to energy levels. The specific frequency at which a molecule rotates or vibrates is dependent upon the shape of its molecular potential energy surfaces, the masses of the atoms and their associated vibronic coupling.