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Vibrational Spectroscopy

Vibrational Spectroscopy

Sandy Bay Campus, Chemistry Building, Level 4, Room 448

This facility is equipped with five instruments for Raman, mid- and near-infrared spectroscopy:

  • Renishaw inVia Raman microscope with Streamline
  • Bruker Vertex 70 (FT-IR) + Hyperion 3000 (microscope)
  • Bruker MPA (FT-NIR)
  • Bruker IFS 66 (FT-IR) + IR Scope I (microscope)
  • Bruker FRA 106 (FT-Raman) + Raman Scope (microscope)

Fast Raman mapping now available at UTAS. This means researchers can now take a 'chemical photograph' of their sample with a spatial resolution of under 1 micrometre. It also can provide real three dimensional images as Raman is a confocal technique. The instrument has 4 different laser excitation lines, an external fibre optic probe for the analysis of larger samples and a heating & freezing cell to analyse samples at variable temperatures.

Infrared Imaging utilising a FPA detector is available for the Vertex/Hyperion system. Spectra can be recorded in both in reflectance and transmission mode for both the microscope and bench-top. An ATR (attenuated total reflectance) objective and an ATR attachment for the bench-top are also available.

The Bruker MPA is available with a number of collection options for both reflection and transmission acquisition, including an auto-sampler wheel for sample vials, a fibre optic probe and a 'SliverScan', an auto-sampler for wood cores.

Applications:

The applications for Raman are numerous and wide ranging. For example medicinal and pharmaceutical researchers will use Raman mapping to study the changes of nerve and brain cells due to pathological changes of Alzheimer’s disease. Geological researchers will use the rapid mapping feature to identify minerals and use the 3D imaging for very small melt and fluid inclusion in volcanic rock. Raman spectroscopy will also be used by chemist to better understand catalytic processes and to provide information of in-house produced materials such as lab-on-a-chip and nanodiamonds.

One of the main applications of the Vertex/Hyperion system is infrared imaging utilising a Focal Plane Array (FPA) detector with 4096 points, which gives specific information about the spatial distribution of different functional groups, chemicals or materials in a given sample. This technique is complementary to the Raman mapping. An example is the spatial distribution and quantitation of water and carbon dioxide in melt inclusions of volcanic rock.

The near-infrared spectrometer can be used to create qualitative and/or quantitative models to analyse the properties of various materials. Examples include models for the analysis of soils, wood fibre and leaves.

For more information please contact A/Prof Thomas Rodemann.