Spectroscopy electromagnetic radiation

The science known as spectroscopy is a branch of physics that deals with the study of the radiation absorbed, reflected, emitted, or scattered by a substance. Although, strictly speaking, the term radiation only deals with photons (electromagnetic radiation), spectroscopy also involves the interactions of other types of particles, such as neutrons, electrons, and protons, which are used to investigate matter. 

As discussed in more detail elsewhere in this encyclopaedia, many optical spectroscopic methods have been developed over the last century for the characterization of bulk materials. In general, optical spectroscopies make use of the interaction of electromagnetic radiation with matter to extract molecular parameters from the substances being studied. The methods employed usually rely on the examination of the radiation absorbed. 

A number of surface-sensitive spectroscopies rely only in part on photons. On the one hand, there are teclmiques where the sample is excited by electromagnetic radiation but where other particles ejected from the sample are used for the characterization of the surface (photons in electrons, ions or neutral atoms or moieties out). These include photoelectron spectroscopies (both x-ray- and UV-based) [89, 9Q and 91], photon stimulated desorption [92], and others. At the other end, a number of methods are based on a particles-in/photons-out set-up. These include inverse photoemission and ion- and electron-stimulated fluorescence [93, M]- All tirese teclmiques are discussed elsewhere in tliis encyclopaedia. 

As diverse as these techniques are all of them are based on the absorption of energy by a molecule and all measure how a molecule responds to that absorption In describing these techniques our emphasis will be on then application to structure determination We 11 start with a brief discussion of electromagnetic radiation which is the source of the energy that a molecule absorbs m NMR IR and UV VIS spectroscopy... 

Section 13 20 IR spectroscopy probes molecular structure by examining transitions between vibrational energy levels using electromagnetic radiation m the 625-4000 cm range The presence or absence of a peak at a charac tenstic frequency tells us whether a certain functional group is present Table 13 4 lists IR absorption frequencies for common structural units... 

Colorimetry, in which a sample absorbs visible light, is one example of a spectroscopic method of analysis. At the end of the nineteenth century, spectroscopy was limited to the absorption, emission, and scattering of visible, ultraviolet, and infrared electromagnetic radiation. During the twentieth century, spectroscopy has been extended to include other forms of electromagnetic radiation (photon spectroscopy), such as X-rays, microwaves, and radio waves, as well as energetic particles (particle spectroscopy), such as electrons and ions. ... 

The focus of this chapter is photon spectroscopy, using ultraviolet, visible, and infrared radiation. Because these techniques use a common set of optical devices for dispersing and focusing the radiation, they often are identified as optical spectroscopies. For convenience we will usually use the simpler term spectroscopy in place of photon spectroscopy or optical spectroscopy however, it should be understood that we are considering only a limited part of a much broader area of analytical methods. Before we examine specific spectroscopic methods, however, we first review the properties of electromagnetic radiation. 

In the previous section we defined several characteristic properties of electromagnetic radiation, including its energy, velocity, amplitude, frequency, phase angle, polarization, and direction of propagation. Spectroscopy is possible only if the photon s interaction with the sample leads to a change in one or more of these characteristic properties. 

In the second broad class of spectroscopy, the electromagnetic radiation undergoes a change in amplitude, phase angle, polarization, or direction of propagation as a result of its refraction, reflection, scattering, diffraction, or dispersion by the sample. Several representative spectroscopic techniques are listed in Table 10.2. 

The first detector for optical spectroscopy was the human eye, which, of course, is limited both by its accuracy and its limited sensitivity to electromagnetic radiation. Modern detectors use a sensitive transducer to convert a signal consisting of photons into an easily measured electrical signal. Ideally the detector s signal, S, should be a linear function of the electromagnetic radiation s power, P,... 

In absorption spectroscopy a beam of electromagnetic radiation passes through a sample. Much of the radiation is transmitted without a loss in intensity. At selected frequencies, however, the radiation s intensity is attenuated. This process of attenuation is called absorption. Two general requirements must be met if an analyte is to absorb electromagnetic radiation. The first requirement is that there must be a mechanism by which the radiation s electric field or magnetic field interacts with the analyte. For ultraviolet and visible radiation, this interaction involves the electronic energy of valence electrons. A chemical bond s vibrational energy is altered by the absorbance of infrared radiation. A more detailed treatment of this interaction, and its importance in deter-... 

Spectroscopy is basically an experimental subject and is concerned with the absorption, emission or scattering of electromagnetic radiation by atoms or molecules. As we shall see in Chapter 3, electromagnetic radiation covers a wide wavelength range, from radio waves to y-rays, and the atoms or molecules may be in the gas, liquid or solid phase or, of great importance in surface chemistry, adsorbed on a solid surface. 

Atomic and Molecular Energy Levels. Absorption and emission of electromagnetic radiation can occur by any of several mechanisms. Those important in spectroscopy are resonant interactions in which the photon energy matches the energy difference between discrete stationary energy states (eigenstates) of an atomic or molecular system = hv. This is known as the Bohr frequency condition. Transitions between... 

Spectrometers are designed to measure the absorption of electromagnetic radiation by a sample. Basically, a spectrometer consists of a source of radiation, a compartment containing the sfflnple through which the radiation passes, and a detector. The frequency of radiation is continuously varied, and its intensity at the detector is compar ed with that at the source. When the frequency is reached at which the sample absorbs radiation, the detector senses a decrease in intensity. The relation between frequency and absorption is plotted as a spectrum, which consists of a series of peaks at characteristic frequencies. Its interpretation can furnish structural information. Each type of spectroscopy developed independently of the others, and so the data format is different for each one. An NMR spectrum looks different from an IR spectrum, and both look different from a UV-VIS spectrum. 

Section 13.21 Transitions between electronic energy levels involving electromagnetic radiation in the 200-800-nm range form the basis of UV-VIS spectroscopy. The absorption peaks tend to be broad but are often useful in indicating the presence of particular- tt electron systems within a molecule. 

Much of our knowledge of molecules is obtained from experimental studies of the way they interact with electromagnetic radiation, and the recent growth in non-linear spectroscopies and molecular electronics has focused attention on our ability (or otherwise) to predict and rationalize the electric properties of molecules. The idea of an electric multipole is an important one, so let s begin the discussion there. 

Problem 14.13 Calculate the energy range of electromagnetic radiation in the UV region of the spectrum from 200 to 400 nm. How does this value compare with the values calculated previously for IR and NMR spectroscopy ... 

How do we know the composition of the sun and other stars How can we measure the temperature inside a flame so hot that any thermometer would melt How can we explore chemical reactions among molecules that are much too tiny to see directly Light allows us to do all these things. The study of matter with electromagnetic radiation is called spectroscopy. 

Spectroscopy The science of analyzing the spectra of atoms and molecules. Emission spectroscopy deals with exciting atoms or molecules and measuring the wavelength of the emitted electromagnetic radiation. Absorption spectroscopy measures the wavelengths of absorbed radiation. 

The physical basis of spectroscopy is the interaction of light with matter. The main types of interaction of electromagnetic radiation with matter are absorption, reflection, excitation-emission (fluorescence, phosphorescence, luminescence), scattering, diffraction, and photochemical reaction (absorbance and bond breaking). Radiation damage may occur. Traditionally, spectroscopy is the measurement of light intensity... 

The field of science that studies the interaction of electromagnetic radiation with matter is known as spectroscopy. Spectroscopic studies on the wavelength, the intensity of the radiation absorbed, emitted, or scattered by a sample, or how the intensity of the radiation changes as a function of its energy and wavelength, provide accurate tools for studying the composition and structure of many materials (Davies and Creaser 1991 Creaser and Davies 1988). 

Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy is a technique that, based on the magnetic properties of nuclei, reveals information on the position of specific atoms within molecules. Other spectroscopic methods are based on the detection of fluorescence and phosphorescence (forms of light emission due to the selective excitation of atoms by previously absorbed electromagnetic radiation, rather than to the temperature of the emitter) to unveil information about the nature and the relative amount specific atoms in matter. 

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