Please update me- is there any specification on structure basis, that a compound is UV active?
As a large molecule, can we make a decision to look into whether the structure of that molecule is UV active or inactive? if possible please provide any links.
Thanks and regards
almost all aromatic compounds are UV active and also compounds with double bonds with extended conjugation. Any basic book on spectroscopy can help you to know whether your molecule will be uv active or not. Please read the seventh chapter from Pavia.
UV/Vis spectroscopy is routinely used in analytical chemistry for the quantitative determination of different analytes, such as transition metal ions, highly conjugated organic compounds, and biological macromolecules. Spectroscopic analysis is commonly carried out in solutions but solids and gases may also be studied.
• Solutions of transition metal ions can be colored (i.e., absorb visible light) because d electrons within the metal atoms can be excited from one electronic state to another. The colour of metal ion solutions is strongly affected by the presence of other species, such as certain anions or ligands. For instance, the colour of a dilute solution of copper sulfate is a very light blue; adding ammonia intensifies the colour and changes the wavelength of maximum absorption (λmax).
• Organic compounds, especially those with a high degree of conjugation, also absorb light in the UV or visible regions of the electromagnetic spectrum. The solvents for these determinations are often water for water-soluble compounds, or ethanol for organic-soluble compounds. (Organic solvents may have significant UV absorption; not all solvents are suitable for use in UV spectroscopy. Ethanol absorbs very weakly at most wavelengths.) Solvent polarity and pH can affect the absorption spectrum of an organic compound. Tyrosine, for example, increases in absorption maxima and molar extinction coefficient when pH increases from 6 to 13 or when solvent polarity decreases.
• While charge transfer complexes also give rise to colours, the colours are often too intense to be used for quantitative measurement
Source: Wekipedia
The previous answer addresses most of the concepts involved in uv-vis absorption spectroscopy. I would have to add that for your molecule to be uv-vis active (spectra is sensitive to stress), the stress applied must induce a change in ground state electron delocalization. Often, you want to check if your molecule has any protonatable group if yes then use pH change, or cis-trans isomerization and then use temperature as a test. Or if your molecule has a large dipole moment then change the solvent polarity.
If you refer to UV active as just having an absorption in the uv region, then the answer above gives you most of the guidelines.
Aldehydes and ketons absorb in the (near) UV. The signal is weak.
Also compounds with double bonds with (a) carbon substituted by nitrogen
almost all aromatic compounds are UV active and also compounds with double bonds with extended conjugation. Any basic book on spectroscopy can help you to know whether your molecule will be uv active or not. Please read the seventh chapter from Pavia.
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