The general regions of the infrared spectrum in which various
kinds of vibrational bands are observed are outlined in the
following chart. Note that the blue colored sections above the
dashed line refer to stretching vibrations, and the green colored
band below the line encompasses bending vibrations. The complexity
of infrared spectra in the 1450 to 600 cm1 region makes it
difficult to assign all the absorption bands, and because of the
unique patterns found there, it is often called the fingerprint
region. Absorption bands in the 4000 to 1450 cm-1 region are
usually due to stretching vibrations of diatomic units, and this is
sometimes called the group frequency region.
- Near InfraRed
Spectroscopy: Absorption bands in the near infrared (NIR)
region (750 - 2500 nm) are weak because they arise from vibrational
overtones and combination bands. Combination bands occur when two
molecular vibrations are excited simultaneously. The intensity of
overtone bands reduces by one order of overtone for each successive
overtone. When a molecule is excited from the ground vibrational
state to a higher vibrational state and the vibrational quantum
number v is greater than or equal to 2 then an overtone absorption
results. The first overtone results from v = 0 to v = 2. The second
overtone occurs when v =0 transitions to v = 3. Transitions arising
from the near ir absorption are weak, hence they are referred to as
forbidden transitions but these transitions are relevant when
non-destructive measurements are required such as a solid sample.
Near IR spectra though have low absorption they have a high signal
to noise ratio owing to intense radiation sources and NIR is able
to penetrate undiluted samples and use longer path lengths; it
becomes very useful for rapid measurement of more representative
samples.
- Far InfraRed
Spectroscopy: The far IR region is particularly useful for
inorganic studies due to stretching and bending vibrations of bonds
between the metal atoms and ligands. The frequencies, which these
vibrations are observed, are usually lower than 650 cm-1. Pure
rotational absorption of gases is observed in the far IR region
when there is a permanent dipole moment present. Examples include
H2O, O3, HCl.