Optical properties, spectroscopy infrared

Thin films — Optical properties. 2. Infrared spectroscopy. 

Siesler, H. W. Rheo-Optical Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy Vibrational Spectra and Mechanical Properties of Polymers. Vol. 65, pp. 1-78. 

As already indicated above, what one may consider a surface depends on the property under consideration. Adhesion is very much an outer atomic layer issue, unless one is dealing with materials like fibreboard in which the polymer resin may also be involved in mechanical anchoring onto the wood particles. Gloss and other optical properties are related to the penetration depth of optical radiation. The latter depends on the optical properties of the material, but in general involves more than a few micrometer thickness and therewith much more than the outer atomic layers only. It is thus the penetration depth of the probing technique that needs to be suitably selected with respect to the surface problem under investigation. Examples selected for various depths (< 10 nm, 10 s of nm, 100 nm, micrometer scale) have been presented in Chapter 10 of the book by Garton on Infrared Spectroscopy of Polymer Blends, Composites and Surfaces... 

An electric dipole operator, of importance in electronic (visible and uv) and in vibrational spectroscopy (infrared) has the same symmetry properties as Ta. Magnetic dipoles, of importance in rotational (microwave), nmr (radio frequency) and epr (microwave) spectroscopies, have an operator with symmetry properties of Ra. Raman (visible) spectra relate to polarizability and the operator has the same symmetry properties as terms such as x2, xy, etc. In the study of optically active species, that cause helical movement of charge density, the important symmetry property of a helix to note, is that it corresponds to simultaneous translation and rotation. Optically active molecules must therefore have a symmetry such that Ta and Ra (a = x, y, z) transform as the same i.r. It only occurs for molecules with an alternating or improper rotation axis, Sn. 

Tseng SH, Grant A, Durkin AJ. In vivo determination of skin near-infrared optical properties using diffuse optical spectroscopy. Journal of Biomedical Optics 2008, 13, 014016. 

In addition to calorimetry, information to establish the mode of adsorption is often obtained spectroscopically. Changes in the optical properties of (groups on) the surface or the adsorptive may be monitored. As an Illustration of the former. Rochester studied adsorption from the gas euid liquid phase on rutile (TiOj) and used infrared spectroscopy to distinguish between attachment at different surface hydroxyls. As an example of an ESR study, McBride investigated the adsorption of fatty acids on amorphous alumina from methanol by labelling them with a spin probe. Relevant information could be... 

Siesler, H.W. (1984) Rheo-optical Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy vibrational spectra and mechanical properties of polymers, in Advances in Polymer Science, Springer Verlag, Berlin, Heidelberg, pp. 1-77. 

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