Knowledge Bank

The infrared spectra of several molecules which are stable only at high temperatures, have been observed using a family of related techniques which are collectively known as the burst of gas method. Two methods were used to generate these gas bursts. In the first, a burst of reactant gas is passed over a hot sample surface. The molecule of interest is formed by chemical reactions between the gas and the surface. The spectra of $Al2Cl6,WnO3n(n=1-3)$, and $TiF4$ will be used to illustrate this method. In the second procedure, a precursor solid is rapidly heated to a very high temperature to generate the gas burst. The spectra of KOCN monomer and dimer, and the $C2F2$ will be used to illustrate this method. In all cases, the spectra of the gas bursts have been obtained with a Nicolet MX-1 FT-IR.