physical chemistry (Walker) Flashcards
Define spectroscopy
Spectroscopy is the study of the interaction between radiation
(electromagnetic radiation, or light, as well as particle radiation) and
matter.
which instruments are used for spectroscopy
spectrometer or spectrograph
what happens when a heated gas undergoes spectroscopy
bright lines characterise the gas, hot substances emit light on the spectrum
what happens when a cold gas undergoes spectroscopy
dark absorption lines characterise the gas. cold substances absorb light on the spectrum
How can the spectra be measured
Spectra can be measured in either absorption or emission. The
spectrum is characteristic of the substance.
in spectroscopy what properties should the light have
Should be as bright as is possible, convenient
and safe. Modern experiments can use lasers.
what do the spectrometers usually use to hold the sample
Modern spectrometers
often use cuvettes to hold liquids.
define dispersive element
A dispersive element which separates white light into its constituent colours. Can be a prism or a diffraction grating.
what is usually used as the detector in spectroscopy
Can be as simple as a white screen, with your eyes used
to monitor the result. Modern experiments use
optoelectronic components such as CCD cameras.
define frequency
The number of waves per
second.
define wavelength
the distance between two peaks or two troughs of the waves
how do you calculate speed of light
wavelength multiplied by frequency
describe how light acts as a wave
Describing light as an electromagnetic wave, electron dipole that is oscillating as it propagates through space. Perpendicular to the oscillating electrical signal, we also have a magnetic dipole that oscillates as it moves through space
what does oscilates
Oscilates – means has a wave shape
units of wavenumber
cm-1
what is constructive interference
constructive interference – the two waves are coincidence meaning they are orverlaying of each other so they add together, so the resulting wave have bigger peaks than the two individual waves
what is destructive interference
Desctructive interference – positive region of 1 wave interferes with the negative region of another, so the effect is that the waves almost cancel each other out and give a smaller wave as an output
on what surface is light diffracted on
Light is diffracted by a finely grooved surface.
what does diffraction depend on
wavelength
what is diffraction
Where monochromatic light passes through a slit of width narrower than the light wavelength, it is diffracted. A sequence of alternating bright and dark spots or lines are observed. White light is a mixture of different colors, the angle in which a particular cooler is diffracted depends on wavelength. The spacing between bright and dark spots depends on the wavelength of light which is being used.
that is the photoelectric effect
When we take UV radiation and shine it on a metal surface, when we do this electrons are emitted from a surface. And if we think light is only described as a wave this shouldn’t happen
why is the hydrogen atom important
Hydrogen atom is abundant all over space so if we can measure spectroscopic lines coming from hydrogen we can use it to map out the densities of atoms and molecule in space
Allowed us to identify the first link between spectra and atomic and molecular structure
what happens when an electron moves from a higher energy level to a lower one
When an electron moves from a higher energy level to a lower one it emits a photon and the energy that the photon has is determined by the difference in energy between the higher and lower energies. The energy of these photons is proportional to there frequency
what is balmer
Balmer – electrons falling from higher levels into the n=2 energy level
what is lyman
Lyman – electrons falling from higher levels into the n=1 energy level
what is paschem
electrons falling from higher levels into the n=3 energy level
what is brackett
Brackett – electrons falling from higher levels into the n=4 energy level
define excited state
Excited state - any state of a system with an energy higher than the ground state
define ground stste
Ground state – the state of a system with the lowest possible energy
define photon
Photon – the transition from an excited state to a lower state results in emission of a photon where energy, E=hv
what happens as frequency gets bigger
As frequency gets bigger wavelength gets smaller.
what so we know about the beer lambert law
Light can be absorbed by substances. Some substances absorb more strongly than others. The higher the concentration of an absorber, the less light is transmitted. The greater the path length of light through an absorber the less light is transmitted
what is the molar absorption coefficient epsilon and what affects it
Molar absorption coefficient (epsilon) – measure of the absorption probability. Depends in wavelength and type of molecular transition. Affected by aggregation of the sample
- Units are M-1cm-1 or dm3mol-1cm1
what is I0
intensity of incident light - usually 100%
what is I or It
intensity of transmitted light
what hapens if the curvette contains a weak absorber vs a strong absorber
If the curvette contains a weak absorber then the transmitted light will be almost the same as the incident. However if the curvette contains a strong absorber then the transmitted light will be very different to the incident light
how do we represent absorption spectra and describe the results
We represent the spectra by putting either wavelength, frequency or wavenumber on the x axis with either the molar absorption coefficient or the log of this on the y axis, but most instruments will provide an absorbance because this can be accurately calibrated. In the gas phase where the collisons are infrequent between molecules we often have sharp lines. Yet in solution where molecules are colliding more frequently then we have more broad lines in spectra
how does a typical absorption spectrometer work
Light Source: Emits a broad spectrum of light (e.g., tungsten lamp for visible light, deuterium lamp for UV light).
Monochromator: Isolates specific wavelengths of light using a diffraction grating or prism.
Sample Holder: Contains the sample in a cuvette; the sample absorbs light at specific wavelengths.
Detector: Measures the intensity of transmitted light after it passes through the sample.
what is the davisson germer experiment
Davisson and germer fired a beam of electrons at the surface of the nickel crystal. The separation between adjacent layers of the crystal is of the order of angstroms. This is about the same as the wavelength of the electrons. The distributions of angles over which electrons are scattered is characteristic of a diffraction pattern, showing electrons display the properties of waves.
define standing wave
Standing waves – combination of 2 waves moving in opposite directions, each having the same amplitude and frequency, result of interference
- Amplitude must be zero where x<0 ad X>L
- A general solution for allowed wavelengths n x wavelength/ 2 = L (standing waves)
define boundary condition
Boundary conditions – the electron is able to move freely within a box ‘but’ cannot leave the box
describe conjugated chains
Conjugated chains allow electrons to move freely along but not outside the length of the chain. The longer the conjugated chain the smaller the wavenumber of the transition between the HOMO and LUMO.
where do electronic transitions occur
Electronic transitions occur between atomic orbitals in atoms. Electronic transitions occur between molecular orbitals in molecules. Different molecular orbitals have different spatial distributions.
what is a chromophore
A chromophore is a region in a molecule where the energy difference between two different molecular orbitals falls within the range of the visible spectrum. Chromophores almost always arise in one of two forms: conjugated π systems and metal complexes
what are the different types of electronic transition
There are several types of electronic transitions available to an organic molecule including: σ to σ* (alkanes) σ to π* (carbonyl compounds) π to π* (alkenes, carbonyl compounds, alkynes) n to σ* (oxygen, nitrogen, sulphur, halogen compounds) n to π* (carbonyl compounds).
describe the energy changes between the electronic transition
- The energy required to go from sigma to sigma star is much greater than the energy to go from pi to pi star. To go from n to pi * these are sometimes smaller that the energy fro pi to pi star but sometimes larger
what do gas phase spectra show
vibrational structure