Attenuated total reflectance infrared surface species, study

Sampling in surface-enhanced Raman and infrared spectroscopy is intimately linked to the optical enhancement induced by arrays and fractals of hot metal particles, primarily of silver and gold. The key to both techniques is preparation of the metal particles either in a suspension or as architectures on the surface of substrates. We will therefore detail the preparation and self-assembly methods used to obtain films, sols, and arrayed architectures coupled with the methods of adsorbing the species of interest on them to obtain optimal enhancement of the Raman and infrared signatures. Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) has been more widely used and studied because of the relative ease of the sampling process and the ready availability of lasers in the visible range of the optical spectrum. Surface-enhanced infrared spectroscopy (SEIRA) using attenuated total reflection coupled to Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, on the other hand, is an attractive alternative to SERS but has yet to be widely applied in analytical chemistry. 

It has been suggested that the first step of reaction (6) may be the formation of a carboxylic species COOHads. Carboxyl radicals have indeed been observed by Zhu et al." for potentials lower than 0.65 V using Fourier Transform infrared Reflectance Absorption Spectroscopy with the Attenuated Total Reflection mode (ATR-FTtR). Moreover Anderson et al." made numerical simulation which indicated that the formation of an adsorbed carboxylic species was energetically more favorable. Here, it has to be noted that the electro-oxidation of CO being a stracture sensitive reaction (sensitive to the superficial stracture symmehy" and to the presence of surface defects) this species can be used to study the activity of a catalyst but also as a molecular probe to characterize the catalytic surface. ... 

The use of infrared spectroscopy in the Earth and environmental sciences has been widespread for decades however, until development of the attenuated total reflectance (ATR) technique, the primary use was ex situ material characterization (Chen and Gardella, 1998 Tejedor-Tejedor et al., 1998 Degenhardt and McQuillan, 1999 Peak et al., 1999 Wijnja and Schulthess, 1999 Aral and Sparks, 2001 Kirwan et al., 2003). For the study of environmental systems, the strength of the ATR-Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) technique lies in its intrinsic surface sensitivity. Spectra are collected only from absorptions of an evanescent wave with a maximum penetration depth of several micrometers from the internal reflection element into the solution phase (Harrick, 1967). This short optical path length allows one to overcome any absorption due to an aqueous phase associated with the sample while maintaining a high sensitivity to species at the mineral-water interface (McQuillan, 2001). Therefore, ATR—FTIR represents a technique capable of performing in situ spectroscopic studies in real time. 

Identification of the specific species of the adsorbed oxyanion as well as mode of bonding to the oxide surface is often possible using a combination of Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, electrophoretic mobility (EM) and sorption-proton balance data. This information is required for selection of realistic surface species when using surface complexation models and prediction of oxyanion transport. Earlier, limited IR research on surface speciation was conducted under dry conditions, thus results may not correspond to those for natural systems where surface species may be hydrated. In this study we review adsorbed phosphate, carbonate, borate, selenate, selenite, and molybdate species on aluminum and iron oxides using FTIR spectroscopy in both Attenuated Total Reflectance (ATR) and Diffuse Reflectance Infrared Fourier Transform (DRIFT) modes. We present new FTIR, EM, and titration information on adsorbed arsenate and arsenite. Using these techniques we... 

Attenuated total reflection (ATR) spectroscopy is one of the most widely used techniques for surface infrared analysis. Although the phenomenon of total internal reflection of light was described by Newton in the early 17th century, it was not until much later that Harrick and, independently, Fahrenfort were to exploit this phenomenon to obtain absorption spectra and develop the ATR technique. When applied to the study of in situ kinetics of adsorption and reaction of species at liquid/ solid interfaces, ATR spectroscopy can yield valuable surface-chemical data. Such studies have been carried out in a variety of research and technological areas, including biomembranes, biofilms, thin film structure and reactivity, and electrochemistry. ... 

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