Column: IR Spectral Interpretation Workshop

Articles

Amides are an important functional group found extensively in polymers and proteins. There are three different families of amides. Here, is explained how to distinguish them using infrared spectroscopy.

Organic Nitrogen Compounds VI: Introduction to Amides

The amine salt functional group contains ionic bonding, and is extremely polar, giving rise to a number of intense and uniquely placed peaks that are easy to identify for primary, secondary, and ter tiary amines.

Organic Nitrogen Compounds V: Amine Salts

Nitriles are easy to spot because of the unusual intensity and position of the C≡N stretching peak.

Organic Nitrogen Compounds IV: Nitriles

A detailed guide to interpreting the infrared spectra of organic nitrogen compounds, including secondary and tertiary amines.

Organic Nitrogen Compounds III: Secondary and Tertiary Amines

Amines, which contain carbon, hydrogen, and nitrogen, come in six varieties, but using the N-H stretching peak positions by themselves will distinguish between all the different amine types.

Organic Nitrogen Compounds II: Primary Amines

So far, we have restricted our discussion to organic functional groups that contain carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, with past columns addressing the theory of infrared spectral interpretation of C-H bonds, C-O bonds, and the C=O functional group. We now turn our attention to interpretation involving organic nitrogen compounds.

Organic Nitrogen Compounds, Part I: Introduction

We review the group wavenumbers of the many carbonyl-containing functional groups we have examined this year and discuss how to distinguish these functional groups from each other.

The C=O Bond, Part VIII: Review

Aromatic esters follow the ester Rule of Three, but each of these three peak positions is different for saturated and aromatic esters, which makes them easy to distinguish. Organic carbonates are structurally similar to esters and follow their own Rule of Three.

The C=O Bond, Part VII: Aromatic Esters, Organic Carbonates, and More of the Rule of Three

Esters are a common and economically important functional group made by reacting an alcohol and a carboxylic acid.

The C=O Bond, Part VI: Esters and the Rule of Three

Carboxylates are made by reacting carboxylic acids with strong bases such as inorganic hydroxides. Carboxylates contain two unique carbon–oxygen “bond and half” linkages that coordinate with a metal ion to give two strong infrared peaks, which make them easy to see.