IR Spectra and Functional Group ID

Infrared (IR) spectroscopy helps identify functional groups in molecules by measuring how they absorb infrared light. It is based on the idea that electromagnetic radiation can move atoms or molecules from a lower energy state to a higher one when the radiation matches the energy gap between those states. In IR spectroscopy,...

On passing IR radiation through molecules, their covalently bonded atoms absorb radiation between 2.5 to 25 micrometers in wavelength as they transition from lower to higher vibrational energy levels.

Molecular vibrations that produce a substantial change in bond dipole moment are termed IR active.

IR radiation is expressed in inve...