Raman Spectroscopy

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Unsolved Problems in Spectroscopy - Part 5
Error Bars in Chemometrics: What Do They Really Mean?

August 25th 2025

This tutorial contrasts classical analytical error propagation with modern Bayesian and resampling approaches, including bootstrapping and jackknifing. Uncertainty estimation in multivariate calibration remains an unsolved problem in spectroscopy, as traditional, Bayesian, and resampling approaches yield differing error bars for chemometric models like PLS and PCR, highlighting the need for deeper theoretical and practical solutions.

Advanced Spectroscopy Techniques Improve Microplastics Identification and Characterization © weerasak -chronicles-stock.adobe.com
Advanced Spectroscopy Techniques Improve Microplastics Identification and Characterization

August 21st 2025

Model of PFAS Structure Floating in Three-Dimensional Space Showcasing Molecular Interactions and Characteristics. Generated with AI. | Image Credit: © Anzhela - stock.adobe.com
Raman Spectroscopy and Machine Learning Show Promise for PFAS Detection

August 21st 2025

How Colorants Complicate Raman Spectroscopy of Microplastics: New Insights from Environmental Research © John -chronicles-stock.adobe.com
How Colorants Complicate Raman Spectroscopy of Microplastics: New Insights from Environmental Research

August 20th 2025

New Technique Combines Raman Spectroscopy and AI to Accurately Detect Microplastics in Water © Evgeny -chronicles-stock.adobe.com
New Technique Combines Raman Spectroscopy and AI to Accurately Detect Microplastics in Water

August 19th 2025

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Recording the Raman Spectrum of a Single Molecule

Recording the Raman Spectrum of a Single Molecule

September 2nd 2021

Analytical chemists are continually striving to advance techniques to make it possible to observe and measure matter and processes at smaller and smaller scales. Professor Vartkess Ara Apkarian and his team at the University of California, Irvine have made a significant breakthrough in this quest: They have recorded the Raman spectrum of a single azobenzene thiol molecule. The approach, which breaks common tenets about surface-enhanced Raman scattering/spectroscopy (SERS) and tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (TERS), involved imaging an isolated azobenzene thiol molecule on an atomically flat gold surface, then picking it up and recording its Raman spectrum using an electrochemically etched silver tip, in an ultrahigh vacuum cryogenic scanning tunneling microscope. For the resulting paper detailing the effort [1], Apkarian and his associates are the 2021 recipients of the William F. Meggers Award, given annually by the Society for Applied Spectroscopy to the authors of the outstanding paper appearing in the journal Applied Spectroscopy. We spoke to Apkarian about this research, and what being awarded this honor means to him and his team. This interview is part of an ongoing series with the winners of awards that are presented at the annual SciX conference. The award will be presented to Apkarian at this fall’s event, which will be held in person in Providence, Rhode Island, September 28–October 1.