Identifying the Presence of Particular Groups
- Page ID
- 3734
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\(\newcommand{\avec}{\mathbf a}\) \(\newcommand{\bvec}{\mathbf b}\) \(\newcommand{\cvec}{\mathbf c}\) \(\newcommand{\dvec}{\mathbf d}\) \(\newcommand{\dtil}{\widetilde{\mathbf d}}\) \(\newcommand{\evec}{\mathbf e}\) \(\newcommand{\fvec}{\mathbf f}\) \(\newcommand{\nvec}{\mathbf n}\) \(\newcommand{\pvec}{\mathbf p}\) \(\newcommand{\qvec}{\mathbf q}\) \(\newcommand{\svec}{\mathbf s}\) \(\newcommand{\tvec}{\mathbf t}\) \(\newcommand{\uvec}{\mathbf u}\) \(\newcommand{\vvec}{\mathbf v}\) \(\newcommand{\wvec}{\mathbf w}\) \(\newcommand{\xvec}{\mathbf x}\) \(\newcommand{\yvec}{\mathbf y}\) \(\newcommand{\zvec}{\mathbf z}\) \(\newcommand{\rvec}{\mathbf r}\) \(\newcommand{\mvec}{\mathbf m}\) \(\newcommand{\zerovec}{\mathbf 0}\) \(\newcommand{\onevec}{\mathbf 1}\) \(\newcommand{\real}{\mathbb R}\) \(\newcommand{\twovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\ctwovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\threevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cthreevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\mattwo}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{rr}#1 \amp #2 \\ #3 \amp #4 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\laspan}[1]{\text{Span}\{#1\}}\) \(\newcommand{\bcal}{\cal B}\) \(\newcommand{\ccal}{\cal C}\) \(\newcommand{\scal}{\cal S}\) \(\newcommand{\wcal}{\cal W}\) \(\newcommand{\ecal}{\cal E}\) \(\newcommand{\coords}[2]{\left\{#1\right\}_{#2}}\) \(\newcommand{\gray}[1]{\color{gray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\lgray}[1]{\color{lightgray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\rank}{\operatorname{rank}}\) \(\newcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\col}{\text{Col}}\) \(\renewcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\nul}{\text{Nul}}\) \(\newcommand{\var}{\text{Var}}\) \(\newcommand{\corr}{\text{corr}}\) \(\newcommand{\len}[1]{\left|#1\right|}\) \(\newcommand{\bbar}{\overline{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bhat}{\widehat{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bperp}{\bvec^\perp}\) \(\newcommand{\xhat}{\widehat{\xvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\vhat}{\widehat{\vvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\uhat}{\widehat{\uvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\what}{\widehat{\wvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\Sighat}{\widehat{\Sigma}}\) \(\newcommand{\lt}{<}\) \(\newcommand{\gt}{>}\) \(\newcommand{\amp}{&}\) \(\definecolor{fillinmathshade}{gray}{0.9}\)This page explains how to use an infra-red spectrum to identify the presence of a few simple bonds in organic compounds.
The infrared spectrum for a simple carboxylic acid: Ethanoic acid
Ethanoic acid has the structure:
You will see that it contains the following bonds:
- carbon-oxygen double, C=O
- carbon-oxygen single, C-O
- oxygen-hydrogen, O-H
- carbon-hydrogen, C-H
- carbon-carbon single, C-C
The carbon-carbon bond has absorptions which occur over a wide range of wavenumbers in the fingerprint region - that makes it very difficult to pick out on an infra-red spectrum. The carbon-oxygen single bond also has an absorbtion in the fingerprint region, varying between 1000 and 1300 cm-1 depending on the molecule it is in. You have to be very wary about picking out a particular trough as being due to a C-O bond.
The other bonds in ethanoic acid have easily recognized absorptions outside the fingerprint region.
- The C-H bond (where the hydrogen is attached to a carbon which is singly-bonded to everything else) absorbs somewhere in the range from 2853 - 2962 cm-1. Because that bond is present in most organic compounds, that's not terribly useful! What it means is that you can ignore a trough just under 3000 cm-1, because that is probably just due to C-H bonds.
- The carbon-oxygen double bond, C=O, is one of the really useful absorptions, found in the range 1680 - 1750 cm-1. Its position varies slightly depending on what sort of compound it is in.
- The other really useful bond is the O-H bond. This absorbs differently depending on its environment. It is easily recognised in an acid because it produces a very broad trough in the range 2500 - 3300 cm-1.
The infrared spectrum for ethanoic acid looks like this:
The possible absorption due to the C-O single bond is queried because it lies in the fingerprint region. You couldn't be sure that this trough wasn't caused by something else.
The infrared spectrum for an alcohol: Ethanol
The O-H bond in an alcohol absorbs at a higher wavenumber than it does in an acid - somewhere between 3230 - 3550 cm-1. In fact this absorption would be at a higher number still if the alcohol isn't hydrogen bonded - for example, in the gas state. All the infra-red spectra on this page are from liquids - so that possibility will never apply.
Notice the absorption due to the C-H bonds just under 3000 cm-1, and also the troughs between 1000 and 1100 cm-1 - one of which will be due to the C-O bond.
The infrared spectrum for an ester: Ethyl ethanoate
This time the O-H absorption is missing completely. Don't confuse it with the C-H trough fractionally less than 3000 cm-1. The presence of the C=O double bond is seen at about 1740 cm-1.
The C-O single bond is the absorption at about 1240 cm-1. Whether or not you could pick that out would depend on the detail given by the table of data which you get in your exam, because C-O single bonds vary anywhere between 1000 and 1300 cm-1 depending on what sort of compound they are in. Some tables of data fine it down, so that they will tell you that an absorption from 1230 - 1250 is the C-O bond in an ethanoate.
The infrared spectrum for a ketone: Propanone
You will find that this is very similar to the infra-red spectrum for ethyl ethanoate, an ester. Again, there is no trough due to the O-H bond, and again there is a marked absorption at about 1700 cm-1 due to the C=O.
Confusingly, there are also absorptions which look as if they might be due to C-O single bonds - which, of course, aren't present in propanone. This reinforces the care you have to take in trying to identify any absorptions in the fingerprint region. Aldehydes will have similar infra-red spectra to ketones.
The infrared spectrum for a hydroxy-acid: 2-hydroxypropanoic acid (lactic acid)
This is interesting because it contains two different sorts of O-H bond - the one in the acid and the simple "alcohol" type in the chain attached to the -COOH group.
The O-H bond in the acid group absorbs between 2500 and 3300, the one in the chain between 3230 and 3550 cm-1. Taken together, that gives this immense trough covering the whole range from 2500 to 3550 cm-1. Lost in that trough as well will be absorptions due to the C-H bonds. Notice also the presence of the strong C=O absorption at about 1730 cm-1.
The infrared spectrum for a primary amine: 1-aminobutane
Primary amines contain the -NH2 group, and so have N-H bonds. These absorb somewhere between 3100 and 3500 cm-1. That double trough (typical of primary amines) can be seen clearly on the spectrum to the left of the C-H absorptions.
Contributors and Attributions
Jim Clark (Chemguide.co.uk)