Do you know historical references about these preferences? IR and RAMAN are complementary vibrational methods. Also, I know the mechanisms and some data about the history and development in the last years. But...Is it about the accumulated information about IR?
Is that really an IR vs. Raman thing or rather a question of the community?
While the methods are in principle complementary, some systems are just "weak" on one of them (e.g. Raman on ceramics). Therefore one community may prefer tables while the other one doesn't.
In astrochemistry which uses IR in great detail, lengthy tables of IR features are definitely common.
Going out on a limb here - it may be that IR started 60 years or more ago as a commonly-used instrument when everything was analog and accurate wavenumber values weren't available. As a consequence, the charts describing wavenumber bands originated as a mnemonic. I remember learning IR in the 70s on a grating spectrometer - we needed to put the 1601 cm-1 band of a polystyrene film on every spectrum for wavenumber (or wavelength, if you were taught in microns) calibration. Raman, being a newer technique as an analytical tool, came of age during the digital era and teaching - recording - referencing methods had evolved.
Or so I reckon ...
I use both techniques: the use of charts rather than detailed attributions mostly depends on the purposes of the research. In structural studies, I presented the detailed attributions of both Raman and IR spectra and compared them with computational spectra. In more analytical studies, where the spectroscopic investigation is a support for the application of a material (i.e. biomaterials, agricultural sciences, cultural heritage....), charts are to be preferred.
If by "chart" you mean a spectrum I would say both methods use both. IR actually goes back considerably more than 60 years and included spectrometers with salt prisms as a dispersive element. The first Raman system I used in the late 60s only had a paper strip chart to record the spectrum on and needed to be referenced to a calibration source. Then you get into resolution. If you are working with gas phase systems at high resolution there are so many lines a table makes more sense. Solid state usually have broad bands and a labeled spectrum is adequate. Hope that helps.
- Badges
- Science topic
- Similar topics
- Papers