Introduction

IR spectroscopy is a spectral method in which the adsorption of radiation corresponds to the

transition among different molecular vibrational-rotational levels within the same electronic state
(normally the ground state of the molecule). These excitations require 1-36 Kcal/Mol. The
wavenumber is the number of waves in one centimeter, and they have units of reciprocal
centimeters. Wavenumber is directly proportional to frequency and energy. IR spectroscopy data
is most useful to determine the presence or absence of a functional group in a molecule.
Structural features such as bonds and functional groups each have characteristic vibrational
frequencies, and they also have different energies. Different energies are required because they
cause molecular vibrations for the different bonds and the different functional groups.
An IR spectrum of a compound can be used to identify the functional groups, and then from the
functional groups the structure of a molecule can be determined. The functional group region of
the IR spectrum involves vibrational excitations that are associated with the particular functional
group. The fingerprint region is the portion of the spectrum that is unique for a particular
1
compound. This portion is found when adsorption occurs in the region 1250-500 cm
(arise

from complex vibrational-rotational excitation of the entire molecule). The hydrogen stretch
1

region is from 3600-2500 cm

, and the adsorption in this region is associated with the

stretching vibrations of the hydrogen atoms that are bonded to carbon, oxygen, or nitrogen.
Solvents that can be used in IR measurements for the cleaning of the cells are: absolute ethanol,
dichloromethane, and chloroform.
Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy measures transitions among nuclear spin states in a
magnetic field. These excitations are of very low energy (less than 1 cal/mol). NMR
spectroscopy data provides the information about the number and arrangement of various atoms
in a molecule; however, not all types of nuclei can be found using this method. This technique
allows us to analyze hydrogen atoms in molecules (1H NMR spectroscopy). This type of
spectroscopy helps analyze the hydrogen atoms, and their nearest neighbors (sometimes the
presence of certain functional groups).
Analysis in the NMR spectrum includes chemical shift, multiplicity of the signal, coupling
constant, and peak integration. When plotting this spectrum the values increase from left to right.

The leftward direction is upfield and the rightward direction is called downfield. The scale used
to measure these signals is in parts per million (ppm). Chemical shifts are groups of peaks that
are centered on different values of a compound. The magnitude of chemical shifts is mostly
related to the electronegativity of any functional groups that are near a proton being observed
and the nature of the induced magnetic field. Coupling (also called multiplicity) reveals how
many hydrogen are on the next carbon in the structure. This information aids in putting the
structure together piece by piece. Coupling is also called splitting, and it follows a formula to
determine the number of peaks that will be connected to the H atom. The equation used is: N+1,
where N= number of hydrogens on the adjacent atom or atoms. The coupling constant, J, usually
measured in hertz (Hz), is the measure of interaction between a pair of protons. The areas of the
peaks in a 1H NMR spectrum are important measures of the relative numbers of the different
types of hydrogen nuclei producing the peaks. Electronic integration allows us to determine the
areas that produce the peaks. The vertical distance that integration rises over a peak or group of
peaks is a direct measure of the area under a peak. Solvents that can be used to obtain 1H NMR
are deuterated solvents. Examples of these are: deuterochloroform, CDCl3, acetone-d6,
(CD3)2CO, dimethyl sulfoxide-d6, deuterium oxide,
C 6 D6 .

D 2 O , CD3 SO CD 3 , benzene-d6, and