FTIR Tutorial

This is the Advanced method setup screen.

Settings you need to note are circled in red:

• Forward/reverse Velocity - This is the speed at which the moving mirror travels. Higher frequencies are higher speeds. I recommend ONLY using speeds between 10 and 40 kHz. DO NOT set above 40 kHz as instrument damage could occur. Set this to 20 kHz for now. If you require a fast scan(e.g. for kinetics), 40 kHz will help to get spectra more quickly.

• Frequency start/end : this is the actual IR frequencies in he spectrum obtained. Set this to 400 cm^-1 start, 4000 cm^-1 end, as above. Some materials (e.g. ZnSe) absorb up to around 500 cm^-1, in which case, you would set the start to 500 cm^-1.



• None of the other settings should be changed on this page. The only other setting to note is spectral range : MIR. This means you're scanning in the mid-infrared, as opposed to far or near infrared. Our spectrometer is only equipped to study the mid-infrared. The settings in the 'Processing' box govern how the Fourier transform is carried out. This is beyond the scope of this tutorial, and you shouldn't touch them, as they'll change the shape of your IR bands!

Next click the Data Handling tab, and the next page will show the settings required.

Back  Continue