A Beginner’s Guide to Spectroscopy in Energy Applications

Energy is the invisible force powers our homes, fuels our cars, drives our industries. From the light switch in your kitchen to the data centers that connect us across the world, the energy industry forms the backbone of modern American life.

The United States was built on energy innovation. Oil and natural gas once fueled the nation’s industrial rise, creating millions of jobs and shaping communities across the country. Today, that same pioneering spirit is driving a new energy revolution, one built on sustainability, efficiency, and technology.

Renewable energy, which includes solar, wind, hydro, and geothermal, now supplies a growing share of America’s power. Advances in battery storage and carbon-capture technologies are reshaping energy production and consumption, while nuclear fusion remains an active and promising research frontier with substantial progress but limited commercial deployment so far.

Spectroscopy is helping the industry realize its goals. From upstream oil-and-gas exploration and refining to renewable-energy device development, batteries, hydrogen production, carbon management, and emissions monitoring, spectroscopic methods provide elemental, molecular, structural, and surface information that drives decisions across the value chain.

As America faces the challenges of a changing climate and a growing population, the energy industry stands at the crossroads of progress, balancing innovation with responsibility, tradition with transformation. Because energy isn’t just about power, it’s about people, opportunity, and the promise of a stronger, more sustainable future.

Techniques Driving Innovation in the Energy Industry

The energy industry employs a wide range of spectroscopic techniques, each offering distinct advantages suited to specific applications. Below, we provide an overview of the most used methods and highlight their key applications across the sector.

Near-Infrared (NIR)/Infrared (IR) Spectroscopy

IR and NIR spectroscopy are fast, nondestructive techniques that deliver robust molecular fingerprints for organics and gases; surface-specific chemical states may require complementary surface-sensitive methods such as XPS or ToF-SIMS. IR spectroscopy, along with NIR spectroscopy, is used to conduct bulk analysis, and both techniques are also embedded as process sensors (2,3).

Raman Spectroscopy

Process Raman spectroscopy has found a niche in the manufacturing processes that govern the energy industry. Raman spectroscopy has the ability to measure samples in real-time, which helps analysts conduct operando (in situ) monitoring of electrochemical cells (4). Raman spectroscopy also has been used as a complementary method, and it is routinely combined with other techniques. For example, Raman has been combined with gas chromatography to study the composition of energy products entering the market (4).

UV-Visible Spectroscopy

UV–vis spectroscopy plays a key role in the energy industry by monitoring the optical properties of solar cell materials to improve light absorption and conversion efficiency (5). It is used to analyze the degradation of photovoltaic components under prolonged sunlight exposure, helping manufacturers design more durable solar panels (6).

In fuel production, UV–vis spectroscopy aids in characterizing catalysts and tracking reaction intermediates during processes such as photocatalytic water splitting or biofuel synthesis (6). The technique also supports the study of nanomaterials used in energy storage systems, such as batteries and supercapacitors, by revealing electronic transitions.

X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS, XANES/EXAFS)

X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) is widely used in the energy industry to analyze the surface composition and chemical states of materials used in batteries, fuel cells, and catalysts. It helps researchers understand how surface chemistry affects energy conversion and storage efficiency, particularly in lithium-ion and solid-state batteries (7). The technique is also valuable for studying catalyst degradation and regeneration in hydrogen production and carbon capture applications. Overall, XPS enables precise surface characterization that drives the development of more efficient, durable, and sustainable energy technologies (7).

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy

NMR spectroscopy is a popular technique to use in studying petroleum and conducting geochemical analysis of crude oil (8,9). What makes NMR spectroscopy ideal for this application area is that it can provide information on the chemical functional groups (9). As a result, NMR can help inform on fuel dynamics, identifying chemical changes that occur during fuel degradation (9).

NMR also plays a role in battery research. It is used to characterize electrode–electrolyte interactions and degradation mechanisms, which helps inform future battery development (10).

Inductively coupled plasma (ICP-OES/MS)

Like NMR spectroscopy, ICP-MS/OES has also been used in improving lithium-ion batteries. For example, a recent study examined how ICP-MS can analyze the inorganic composition of three commercial lithium-ion battery (LIB) electrolytes (11). By combining ICP-MS with complementary mass spectrometric techniques, the study aimed to provide a comprehensive profile of both the organic and inorganic components of commercial electrolyte formulations (11). As a result, ICP-MS can be used to ensure the quality of key components used in building LIBs.

Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS)

LIBS can conduct in situ analysis of battery electrode materials without extensive sample preparation. For example, a recent study highlighted how LIBS rapidly and quantitatively determine the elemental composition of layered lithium metal oxide cathodes doped with trace amounts of molybdenum and chromium (12).

References

1. NIST, Spectroscopy: A Measurement Powerhouse. NIST.gov. Available at: https://www.nist.gov/spectroscopy/what-spectroscopy (accessed 2025-10-22).
2. Bahr, M.-S.; Wolff, M. PAS-based Analysis of Natural Gas Samples. Front Chem. 2023, 11, 1328882. DOI: 10.3389/fchem.2023.1328882
3. Wetzel, W. Real-Time Natural Gas Monitoring Using Near Infrared Spectroscopy. Spectroscopy. Available at: https://www.spectroscopyonline.com/view/real-time-natural-gas-monitoring-using-near-infrared-spectroscopy (accessed 2025-10-22).
4. Frost, O. Case Study: Process Raman Spectroscopy for the Energy Industry. AZO Materials. Available at: https://www.azom.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=23504#:~:text=Process%20Raman%20spectroscopy%20can%20measure,rapidly%20identifying%20and%20resolving%20issues. (accessed 2025-10-24).
5. PerkinElmer, Spectroscopy’s Role in Accelerating the Solar Panel Development. PerkinElmer. Available at: https://blog.perkinelmer.com/posts/spectroscopys-role-in-accelerating-the-solar-panel-development/ (accessed 2025-10-24).
6. Woo, S.; Jung, H.; Yoon, Y. Real-Time UV/VIS Spectroscopy to Observe Photocatalytic Degradation. Catalysts 2023, 13 (4), 683. DOI: 10.3390/catal13040683
7. Miao, K.; Chen, S.; Zhou, J. The X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy for Advanced Battery Systems. Sus. Mater. Technol. 2025, 45, e01608. DOI: 10.1016/j.susmat.2025.e01608
8. Shaikhah, D.; Rossi, C. O.; De Luca, G.; et al. The Use of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (NMR) to Characterize Bitumen Used in the Road Pavements Industry: A Review. Molecules 2024, 29 (17), 4038. DOI: 10.3390/molecules29174038
9. Gao, G.; Cao, J.; Xu, T.; et al. Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy of Crude Oil as Proxies for Oil Source and Thermal Maturity Based on ¹H and ¹³C spectra. Fuel 2020, 271, 117622. DOI: 10.1016/j.fuel.2020.117622
10. Pecher, O.; Carretero-Gonzalez, J.; Griffith, K. J.; Grey, C. P. Materials’ Methods: NMR in Battery Research. Chem. Mater. 2017, 29 (1), 213–242. DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemmater.6b03183
11. Zou, A. Benefits of ICP-MS for the Elemental Compositional Analysis of Lithium-Ion Battery Electrolytes. Spectroscopy 2025, 40 (3), 6–9. DOI: 10.56530/spectroscopy.eg1583l1
12. Pamu, R.; Davari, S. A.; Darbar, D.; et al. Calibration-Free Quantitative Analysis of Lithium-Ion Battery (LiB) Electrode Materials Using Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS). ACS Appl. Energy Mater. 2021, 4 (7), 7259–7267. DOI: 10.1021/acsaem.1c01386