CHE 276

ORGANIC CHEMISTRY II
 INTRODUCTION TO
ORGANIC SPECTROSCOPY

 PROF. OLAPEJU O. AIYELAAGBE

 F105, CHEMISTRY DEPARTMENT
 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN, IBADAN

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 What is Spectroscopy:
Spectroscopy is the study of interaction of matter
with light i.e. electromagnetic radiation (emr).
Spectrometry is the measurement of these
interactions and the instrument used for the
measurement is known as spectrometer.
A plot of the interactions or the measurement is called
the spectrum.

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The different interactions give rise to the different
spectroscopic techniques.
The interactions can involve absorption, emission or
scattering of the electromagnetic radiation.
There are four main types of spectroscopy namely:
Infrared (IR),
Ultraviolet (UV),
Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) and
Mass Spectroscopy (MS)
depending on the electromagnetic radiation
involved.

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The first three types (i.e. IR, UV and NMR) rely
on selective absorption of electromagnetic
radiation by the molecules while
In mass spectroscopy, the molecules are
bombarded with high energy electrons or atoms
which results in fragmentation of the
compound.
Mass spectroscopy is always referred to as mass
spectrometry.

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Infrared spectroscopy (IR)
IR involves absorption of electromagnetic radiation
in the infrared region of the electromagnetic
spectrum and it results in vibrational transitions.
IR is used to determine the presence of functional
groups and different bond types in organic
molecules.
The frequency of absorption is directly
proportional to the wavenumber.
The vibrational frequency is measured in
wavenumbers (ν) and the unit is reciprocal
centimeters (cm-1).
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Ultraviolet (UV) spectroscopy
UV records electronic transitions of the molecules
when they absorb electromagnetic radiation in the
ultraviolet region of the electromagnetic spectrum.
UV is used to detect the presence of multiple
bonds and conjugation in organic molecules.
UV measurement is recorded as the wavelength of
absorption (λ) and the unit used is nm.

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Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy
NMR is due to nuclear spins experienced by organic
molecules in the presence of an external magnetic field
and absorption of electromagnetic radiation.
The most common NMR techniques are Proton (1H)
and Carbon-13 (13C) NMR.
The proton (1H) NMR gives information about the
number and chemical nature of the protons in a
compound
Carbon-13 (13C) NMR gives information about the
number of carbon atoms in the molecule and their
functionality.
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Mass spectrometry (MS)
MS involves bombarding molecules with high
energy electrons or atoms which leads to ionization
of the molecules.
MS gives information about the molecular mass of
molecules and may also give the exact mass of a
compound and the Molecular formula.
All the techniques are used in the determination of
the structure of organic compounds and analysis of
various compounds.