INTRODUCTION TO SPECTROCHEMICAL METHODS

The most interesting types of interactions in spectroscopy involve transitions between different energy Ievels of chemical
species.
Other types of interactions, such as reflection. Refraction, elastic scattering, interference, and diffraction, are often
related to the bulk properties of materials rather than to energy levels of specific molecules or atoms. Although these
bulk interactions are also of interest in spectroscopy, we limit our discussion here to those interactions that involve
energy-level transitions.
 The interaction of
radiation with matter
The specific type of interactions that we observe
strongly depends on the energy of the radiation
used and the mode of detection
 Incident Transmitted
Radiation Radiation
I0 I

2
intensity

0
l1 l
 Transmittance T % = I/I0 *100
Incident Transmitted
Radiation Radiation
Absorbance A = log (I0/I)
I0 I

2
intensity

0
l2 l1 l
 Incident Transmitted
Radiation Radiation
I0 I

intensity

l1 l
 Incident Transmitted
Transmittance T % = I/I0 *100
Radiation Radiation
I0 I
Absorbance A = log (I0/I)

2
intensity

0
l2 l1 l
 Emitted
Radiation
I

2
intensity

1
Incident
Radiation
I0

0
l1 l
 intensity

l1 l
Emitted
Radiation
I

Incident
Radiation
I0
 2

Emitted
Radiation
I
0

intensity

Stimulus
(thermal, electrical, chemical energy …)

l2 l1 l3 l
Continuum source

Line source