Introduction: In this chapter we are going to consider how the different types of radiation affect molecules

and how this relation can be used.

Things to learn
Electromagnetic spectrum

Unlike water waves oscillations of electromagnetic waves involve not matter but electric and
magnetic field.

Electromagnetic waves can cover a wide range of wavelengths or frequencies.

Due to infrared radiation bonds in the molecules vibrate by stretching and bending.

Different bonds require different amounts of energy to make them vibrate. Only the polar molecules
are affected due to this type of radiation. H H and Cl Cl will not absorb infrared radiation, but H
Cl will.

Ethanoic acid can be produced in the wine due to the oxidation of wine. In the spectrum of ethanoic
acid there is a large peak labelled X at about 1700 cm-1 this corresponds to the C = O bond

stretching. There is no such bond in ethanol so chemists can check the extent of any oxidation by
monitoring the growth of this peak.

Due to the electromagnetic field inside the microwaves water molecules in the food to line up with
the field. The field then switches to the opposite direction and the water molecules swivel round to
line up again. This causes the energy in the microwaves to be converted into thermal energy and this
heats the food. This happens only in polar compounds.

Using microwaves organic compounds which are soluble in both an organic solvent and water can
be separated as organic solvent is not affected by microwaves.

Due to ultraviolet radiation oxygen molecules to dissociate into reactive oxygen atoms by
homolytic fission. This can react with other oxygen molecules to produce ozone.

Using the technique of ultraviolet radiation, scientists have studied organic molecules, polymers,
nanoparticles and semiconductors.

Things to learn
High-resolution nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy

When atoms like hydrogen are placed in a magnetic field, the nuclei align themselves with the field,
just as a bar magnet aligns itself with the Earths magnetic field.

The nuclei of atoms can be pushed from one alignment to the other by the energy from radio
waves.

The spectrum of frequencies absorbed by a particular molecule provides a great deal of information
about the position of the hydrogen atoms in it.

The hydrogen atoms in a molecule that is subjected to an externally applied magnetic field do not all
experience the same magnetic field. This is because the proton in the nucleus of a hydrogen atom is
shielded by electrons close to it.

The frequency at which magnetic resonance occurs is an indication of the chemical environment of a
proton within a molecule.

Things to learn
Low resolution nmr enables the identification of:

The number of different types of proton from the number of peaks

The relative number of hydrogen atoms in each group from the area under the peaks.

High-resolution nmr

High resolution of the spectrum splits the signals into multiplets. The splitting occurs because of the
interaction between protons on neighbouring atoms. This interaction is called coupling and causes
the splitting into distinct lines.

The number of lines in the split pattern for a peak is equal to one more than the number of hydrogen
atoms in the adjacent group in the molecule.

Things to learn

Nuclear magnetic resonance and other methods of structural determination enable chemists to
determine chemical structure very quickly.

nmr spectroscopy technique can be used to determine the molecular structure of organic
compounds by studying the series of peaks in the spectrum.

nmr imaging is an extremely rich source of information about what is going on inside patients.

A process known as diffusion weighted imaging produces as nmr image which allows very
specific diagnosis of the area of damage after a stroke.

Nicotine is made in pharmaceiticles which may contain a chemical cotinine, which has a very
similar structure to nicotine but has undesirable properties. Nmr spectroscopy can measure the
purity of samples quickly and accurately, so that if cotinine appears in a batch of the drug it can
be isolated and removed before the nicotine is used therapeutically.