Introduction to Spectrochemical Methods

The interactions of radiation and matter are the subject of spectroscopy. Spectroscopic methods are based on measuring the amount of radiation produced or absorbed by the molecular or atomic species of interest. The regions of the spectrum that have been used include 1. -ray 2. X-ray 3. Ultraviolet (UV) 4. Visible 5. Infrared (IR) 6. Microwave 7. Radio-frequency (RF) Properties of Electromagnetic Radiation Electromagnet radiation is a form of energy that is transmitted through space at enormous velocities. The wave model fails to account for phenomena associated with absorption and emission of radiant energy. For these processes, electromagnet radiation is treated as discrete packets of energy or particles, called photons or quanta. See pg 711, 712 for basic wave theory Radiant Power The radiant power P in watts (W) is the energy of a beam that reaches a given area per unit time. The intensity is the radiant power-per-unit solid angle. The wavenumber v in cm-1 (Kayser) is most often used to describe radiation in the infra-red region. The most useful part of the infra-red spectrum for the detection and determination of organic species is 2.5 to 15 m, which corresponds to a wavelength range of 4000 to 667 cm-1. The wavenumber of a beam of electromagnetic radiation is directly proportional to its energy and thus its frequency. It is defined as the number of waves per centimetre and is equal to 1/. The Particle Nature of Light: Photons In many radiation/matter interactions, it is most useful to consider light as consisting of photons or quanta. We can relate the energy of a photon to its wavelength, frequency, and wavenumber by E = h Skoog, West et al, Fundamentals of analytical chemistry, 8th ed, ISBN-13: 978-0-03-035523-3

where h is Planck's constant (6.63 x 10-34 Js) The wavenumber and frequency are directly proportional to the photon energy. A photon is a particle of electromagnetic radiation having zero mass and energy of h.

Skoog, West et al, Fundamentals of analytical chemistry, 8th ed, ISBN-13: 978-0-03-035523-3