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Absorption spectroscopy is an analytical tool used by chemists and physicists to determine the concentration of particular compound and also to study the structure of a substance. It is based on the absorption of light by a chemical substance and subsequent promotion of electron(s) from a one energy level to another in that substance. The wavelength at which the incident photon is absorbed is determined by the difference in the available energy levels. Typically, X-rays are used to reveal chemical composition, and near ultraviolet to near infrared wavelengths are used to distinguish the configurations of various isomers in detail. While the relative intensity of the absorption lines do not vary with concentration, at any given wavelength the measured absorbance () has been shown to be proportional to the molar concentration of the absorbing species and the thickness of the sample the light passes through. This is known as the Beer-Lambert law. The plot of amount of radiation absorbed versus wavelength for a particular compound is referred to as the absorption spectrum. The normalized absorption spectrum is characteristic for a particular compound, does not change with varying concentration and is like the chemical "fingerprint" of the compound. At wavelengths corresponding to the resonant energy levels of the sample, some of the incident photons are absorbed, resulting in a drop in the measured transmission intensity and a corresponding dip in the spectrum. The absorption spectrum can be measured using a spectrometer and by knowing the shape of the spectrum ,the optical path length and the amount of radiation absorbed, one can detemine the structure and concentration of the compound. Visible light absorption spectra can be taken in anything that is visibly clear. Polystyrene, quartz, and borosilicate (Pyrex) cells, often called cuvettes, are the most commonly used. UV light is absorbed by most glasses and plastics, so quartz cells are used. The Si-O moieties in glasses and quartz, and the C-C moieties in plastics absorb infrared light. Therefore, infrared absorption spectra are typically carried out with a thin film of the sample held in place between sodium chloride sample plates. Other methods involve suspending the compound in a substance does not absorb in the region of study. Mineral oil (Nujol) emulsions and potassium bromide glasses are perhaps the most common. NaCl and KBr, being ionic, do not have significant IR absorptions, and Nujol has a relatively uncomplicated IR spectrum.
Spectroscopy as an analytical tool Often it is of interest to know not only the chemical composition of a given sample, but also the relative concentrations of the several compositing compounds. To do this, a scale, or calibration curve, must be constructed using several known concentrations for each compound of interest. The resulting plot of concentration vs. absorbance is fit either by hand or using appropriate curve-fitting software, yielding a mathematical formula to determine the concentration in the sample. Repeating this process for each compound in a sample gives a model of several absorption spectra added together to reproduce the observed absorption. In this way it is possible, for instance, to measure the chemical composition of comets without actually bringing samples back to Earth. A simple example: a cyanide standard at 200 parts per million gives an absorbance with an arbitrary value of 1540. An unknown sample gives a value of 834. The math could be stated as: "if 200 gives you 1540, what gives you 834?" Since this is a linear relation and goes through the origin, the unknown is easily calculated to be 108 parts per million. Note the beauty of the ratio method in that it is not necessary to know the values of the governing coefficients, or chromophores, or the experimental cell length - it all divides out. In practice, use of a calibration curve rather than a single point of comparison reduces uncertainty in the final measurement by excluding random interference (noise) in the preparation of the standards. See also Related Techniques | ||||||||
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