infrared spectroscopy fundamentals and applications.pdfVIP

INFRARED SPECTROSCOPY: FUNDAMENTALS AND APPLICATIONS Barbara H. Stuart University of Technology, Sydney, Australia 72 Infrared Spectroscopy: Fundamentals and Applications hydrocarbons appear in the 3000–2800 cm−1 range and the C–H stretching bands of methyl groups and methylene groups are readily differentiated. For methyl groups, asymmetric C–H stretching occurs at 2870 cm−1, while symmetric C–H stretching occurs at 2960 cm−1. By comparison, methylene groups show asym- metric stretching at 2930 cm−1 and symmetric stretching at 2850 cm−1. C–H bending gives rise to bands in the region below 1500 cm−1. Methyl groups pro- duce two bending bands, i.e. a symmetrical band at 1380 cm−1 and an asymmet- rical band at 1475 cm−1. Methylene groups give rise to four bending vibrations: scissoring (1465 cm−1), rocking (720 cm−1), wagging (1305 cm−1) and twist- ing (1300 cm−1). The intensity of the methylene CH2 rocking band is useful as four or more CH2 groups are required in a chain to produce a distinct band near 720 cm−1. Shorter chains show a more variable band, for instance, the CH2 rocking band for C H is near 734 cm−1. Although these are the main char- 4 10 acteristic bands associated with aliphatic hydrocarbons, there are a number of bands that appear in the spectra of such compounds as there is a wide range of structures possible. The main infrared bands for alkanes are summarized in Table 4.1. Table 4.1 Characteristic infrared bands of aliphatic hydrocarbons Wavenumber (cm−1) Assignment Alkanes 2960 Methyl symmetric C–H stretching 2930 Methylene asymmetric C–H stretching 2870 Methyl asymmetric C–H stretching