Instrumentation

UV-VIS SPECTROMETRY
A stable radiation source

Wavelength selector
Sample holder
Radiation detector or transducer, and
Signal processing and output device
1. A spectrophotometric radiation source must provide a stable high energy
output over a broad range of wavelengths.
2. Spectrophotometric measurements need to use a narrow band of
wavelengths of light. This enhances the selectivity and sensitivity of the
instrument. Absorption filter is use to isolate the radiant energy and
provide a broad band of the wavelengths. This can be achieved by using
monochromators which employ a prism or diffraction grating as the
dispersing medium.
3. The UV-VIS absorption spectra are usually determined either in vapour
phase or in solution. In order to take the UV spectrum of the sample, a
transparent to the wavelength of light passing through it.
4. The detectors are used to convert a light signal to an electrical signal
which can be suitably measured and transformed into an output.
5. The electrical signal from the transducer is suitably amplified or
processed before it is sent to the recorder to give an output. The output
plot between the wavelength and the intensity of absorption is the
resultant of the subtraction process and is characteristic of the absorbing
species.
Advantages
rapid means of analysis
can provide very high precision and
accuracy.
It is useful for a wide variety of
chemicals, and it is non-destructive.
It can be used both quantitatively
Disadvantages
limited use in analysing mixtures,
due to the addition of absorbance.
It requires special equipment (a UV
light source and UV-transparent
sample holders, for example)
it is not selective for compounds if
and
qualitatively
substances.
on
pure
they
absorb
wavelength.
at
the
IR spectrometry
As IR spectrometry is also based on absorption spectroscopy like UV-VIS
spectrometry, the basic components of IR instruments are also similar to that of
the UV-VIS spectrometers, as discussed in the previous unit. The essential
components of an IR instrument are as follows.
A stable and powerful source of radiation

Monochromator or frequency modulator
Transducers or detectors
Signal processing and output device
1. The commonly employed IR source is generally an electrically heated inert
solid that emits a continuum of radiation like a black body. The best
sources available and commonly employed in the IR spectrophotometers
are Nernst or Glower filament lamp.
2. Monochromators is about rotating prisms and diffraction gratings which
disperse the radiations from the source falling on it and can be used to
allow the radiations of different wavelengths to come out of the exit slit.
These are then passed through the sample and the interaction is
monitored. In IR spectrometers the monochromator is placed after the
sample.
3. There are three categories of transducers employed for detecting IR
radiation. These are as follows which involve Thermal transducers
same
(Thermocouples
and
Bolometers),
Pyroelectric
transducers
and
Photoconducting transducers.
4. The electrical signal from the transducer is suitably amplified or processed
before it is sent to the recorder to give an output. An optical null system is
employed to achieve the equal intensities of the sample and reference
beams.
Advantages
Not causing any damage, it is
harmless and will not damage the
environment or the area being
viewed.
Sample being viewed do not need
any
special
preparation,
the
readings can be taken without
doing anything special to the
subject at hand.
Almost universal. Many molecules
have strong absorbance in midinfrared. (many types of samples
can have their infrared spectra
measured.)
Informative. The peak position
gives
the
structures
of
the
molecules in a sample.
Inexpensive
Relatively fast and easy.
Disadvantages
Poor sensitivity to molecular units
with small oscillatory dipoles
during a vibrational transition and
difficult to detect minor component
of samples.
Does not provide information of
the relative positions of different
functional groups on a molecule
Spectroscopy is mixtures. The
more complex the composition of a
sample, the more difficult t is to
determine what peaks are from
what molecules.
It is water. Liquid is broad and has
intense peaks can mask the
spectra of solute in liquid water
needs to be present in a
concentration greater than 0.1% to
be seen.

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UV-VIS SPECTROMETRY

A stable radiation source

A stable and powerful source of radiation

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