CSIR-Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow
Supported by: Department of Science & Technology ( Govt. of India)
FTIR is most useful for identifying chemicals that are either organic or inorganic. It can be utilized to quantitate some components of an unknown mixture. It can be applied to the analysis of solids, liquids, and gasses. It can be used to identify chemicals from spills, paints, polymers, coatings, drugs, and contaminants. FTIR is perhaps the most powerful tool for identifying types of chemical bonds (functional groups). The wavelength of light absorbed is characteristic of the chemical bond as can be seen in this annotated spectrum. FTIR spectra of pure compounds are generally so unique that they are like a molecular "fingerprint". While organic compounds have very rich, detailed spectra, inorganic compounds are usually much simpler. For most common materials, the spectrum of an unknown can be identified by comparison to a library of known compounds.