How do I interpret an infrared spectrum?

Good question, glad you asked. Here’s how I do it. I first do a coarse look at the spectrum, looking for
obvious features (we’ll get into what is obvious later). I then look for details on these obvious features, and
start looking at finer details in other parts of the spectrum. Here’s how I do it stepwise:

I. Is there a carbonyl present? The carbonyl stretch, usually between 1640 and 1780 cm-1, is often
the most obvious peak in the spectrum due to the high dipole moment of the bond. If there is a
carbonyl, look for further features like:

A. Is there an OH stretch, broad and strong, between 2500 and 3400 cm-1? If so it is probably a
carboxylic acid.
B. Is there an NH stretch, medium strength, between 3200 and 3400 cm-1? If so it may well be
an amide. A single peak indicates a secondary amide, a double peak indicates a primary
amide (remember symmetrical and asymmetrical stretching).
C. Is there a strong, somewhat broad peak at around 1200 cm-1? This may be due to the C-O
stretch of an ester.
D. Are there two weak peaks at around 2750 cm-1 and 2850 cm-1? If so there is an aldehyde
present.

II. If there is no carbonyl present, take a scan for other features, like:

A. Is there an alcohol OH stretch? They are usually a very pretty symmetrical strong and broad
peak between 3100 and 3400 cm-1.
B. Is there an NH absorbance? They tend to be a medium intensity peak, sharper than an OH
stretch, in the same region. As above, secondary amines have a single peak, primary amines
have a double peak. Also check for the broad NH2 scissor at around 1600 cm-1. It tends to
be a fairly weak absorbance but has a characteristic shape.
C. Alkynes and Nitriles have a sharp absorbance in an area that tends to be devoid of other
features, between 2150 and 2350 cm-1. The alkyne signal tends to be weaker than the nitrile
due to its lower dipole moment, but if it is a terminal alkyne there will be a very sharp
absorbance, medium intensity, at around 3300 cm-1, for the sp C-H stretch.

III. Take a peek at the C-H stretch region at around 3000 cm-1. This is a very informative region in
that sp3 C-H stretches occur just below 3000 cm-1, and sp2 C-H stretches are seen just above 3000
cm-1 (except for aldehyde sp2 C-H stretches, discussed above). If you suspect that there is an
aromatic ring, you can get further information on substitution by looking at the region between
650 and 1000 cm-1 to find the substitution pattern using the out of plane bends. I’ve included a
chart of these on the back of this page.

IV. Now we’re down to the harder to see details:

A. Ethers will show a C-O stretch at around 1100 cm-1. This is in a fairly crowded region, but
this peak tends to stand out as a fairly intense peak, and a little broader than other peaks in
the region.
B. The CH2 scissor occurs just above 1400 cm-1, the CH3 umbrella occurs just below 1400 cm-1.
Neither of these are very high intensity, but the CH3 umbrella is often useful to see if there is
a methyl group in the molecule.
C. Halides will show a fairly strong absorbance in the 550-750 cm-1 region.
D. Sometimes you can see the C=C stretch at around 1590-1650 cm-1. With aromatic molecules
there are usually two absorbances, one at around 1480 cm-1 and another just over 1600 cm-1.
Organic Structural Spectroscopy, Lambert, Shurvell, Lightner, and Cooks. ©1998

Introduction to Spectroscopy, third edition. Pavia, Lampman, and Kriz ©2001