Molecular spectroscopy

General principles

A molecule is a collection of positively charged atomic nuclei surrounded by a cloud of negatively charged electrons. Its stability results from a balance among the attractive and repulsive forces of the nuclei and electrons. A molecule is characterized by the total energy resulting from these interacting forces. As is the case with atoms, the allowed energy states of a molecule are quantized (see above Basic properties of atoms).

Molecular spectra result from either the absorption or the emission of electromagnetic radiation as molecules undergo changes from one quantized energy state to another. The mechanisms involved are similar to those observed for atoms but are more complicated. The additional complexities are due to interactions of the various nuclei with each other and with the electrons, phenomena which do not exist in single atoms. In order to analyze molecular spectra it is necessary to consider simultaneously the effects of all the contributions from the different types of molecular motions and energies. However, to develop a basic understanding it is best to first consider the various factors separately.

There are two primary sets of interactions that contribute to observed molecular spectra. The first involves the internal motions of the nuclear framework of the molecule and the attractive and repulsive forces among the nuclei and electrons. The other encompasses the interactions of nuclear magnetic and electrostatic moments with the electrons and with each other.

The first set of interactions can be divided into the three categories given here in decreasing order of magnitude: electronic, vibrational, and rotational. The electrons in a molecule possess kinetic energy due to their motions and potential energy arising from their attraction by the positive nuclei and their mutual repulsion. These two energy factors, along with the potential energy due to the mutual electrostatic repulsion of the positive nuclei, constitute the electronic energy of a molecule. Molecules are not rigid structures, and the motion of the nuclei within the molecular framework gives rise to vibrational energy levels. In the gas phase, where they are widely separated relative to their size, molecules can undergo free rotation and as a result possess quantized amounts of rotational energy. In theory, the translational energy of molecules through space is also quantized, but in practice the quantum effects are so small that they are not observable, and the motion appears continuous. The interaction of electromagnetic radiation with these molecular energy levels constitutes the basis for electron spectroscopy, visible, infrared (IR) and ultraviolet (UV) spectroscopies, Raman spectroscopy, and gas-phase microwave spectroscopy.

The second set of molecular interactions form the basis for nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy, and nuclear quadrupole resonance (NQR) spectroscopy. The first two arise, respectively, from the interaction of the magnetic moment of a nucleus or an electron with an external magnetic field. The nature of this interaction is highly dependent on the molecular environment in which the nucleus or electron is located. The latter is due to the interaction of a nuclear electric quadrupole moment with the electric field generated by the surrounding electrons; they will not be discussed in this article.

Molecular spectra are observed when a molecule undergoes the absorption or emission of electromagnetic radiation with a resulting increase or decrease in energy. There are limitations, imposed by the laws of quantum mechanics, as to which pairs of energy levels can participate in energy changes and as to the extent of the radiation absorbed or emitted. The first condition for the absorption of electromagnetic radiation by a molecule undergoing a transition from a lower energy state, E_lo, to a higher energy state, E_hi, is that the frequency of the absorbed radiation must be related to the change in energy by E_hi − E_lo = hν, where ν is radiation frequency and h is Planck’s constant. Conversely, the application of electromagnetic radiation of frequency ν to a molecule in energy state E_hi can result in the emission of additional radiation of frequency ν as the molecule undergoes a transition to state E_lo. These two phenomena are referred to as induced absorption and induced emission, respectively. Also a molecule in an excited (high) energy state can spontaneously emit electromagnetic radiation, returning to some lower energy level without the presence of inducing radiation.