JCE Online Journal of Chemical Education
 | Subscriptions  | Software Orders  | Support  | Contributors  | Advertisers  | 

JCE Print

JCE Digital Library

JCE Software

Only@JCE Online

About JCE


  Home > JCE Print > Journal of Chemical Education > Issues > 1999  > March  >
In the Classroom
Advanced Chemistry Classroom and Laboratory
Undergraduate Lectures on Infrared Spectroscopy in the Solid State
E. A. Secco
St. Francis Zavier University, Chemistry Department, P.O. Box 5000, Antigonish, Nova Scotia B2G 2W5, CANADA

Cover
March 1999
Vol. 76 No. 3
p. 373

Abstract
Our lectures on spectroscopy in an undergraduate physical chemistry course are accompanied by a laboratory experiment in recording and interpreting the infrared spectra of complex compounds such as Cu4(OH)6(NO3)2 and Cu4(OH)6SO4 in the solid state. This experimental exercise exposes students to the reduction in symmetry for a polyatomic species such as NO3- or SO42- in a crystalline lattice. This symmetry reduction provides an insight into the intramolecular effects as reflected on the internal and external modes of the species. Since these interacting forces can yield a vibrational multiplet structure arising from three main effects-(i) factor group or correlation field splitting, (ii) site group splitting, and (iii) multiple site splittings-students are introduced to a cursory treatment of factor group analysis. The experiment illustrates how splitting of degenerate modes occurs and how infrared inactive modes become active.
More Information
*  Citation
Secco, E. A. J. Chem. Educ. 1999 76 373.
*  Keywords
IR Spectroscopy; Solid-State Chemistry; Crystallography / Crystal Growth
*  History
Created:
Last Updated:
June 15, 1999
June 22, 2005
  Home > JCE Print > Journal of Chemical Education > Issues > 1999 > March > Page 373


Subscriptions

JCE HS CLIC

Our Secondary School editors work hard to distill all the JCE materials to produce a fraction of particular interest to high school teachers. We call it CLIC.


Contributions Welcome
JCE welcomes your submission

Advertisers
In recent years we have worked hard to better match our advertisers with our readers. When shopping for chemistry education materials, visit our advertisers' WWW sites first.

Be An Ambassador
Take JCE along on your outreach missions. Copies of the Journal, guest access to JCE Online, our publications catalog, and more are available for your participants.