Shimadzu FTIR Talk letter - Vol. 35

Significance of the Topic

Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and related techniques have become essential in addressing challenges in battery research, reaction kinetics, environmental microplastic pollution and pharmaceutical quality control.

Objectives and Scope

• Assess compact FTIR operation inside an inert‐atmosphere glovebox for lithium‐ion battery electrolyte analysis
• Demonstrate high‐speed reaction monitoring using the IRTracer-100 rapid scan function
• Illustrate qualitative and imaging analysis of microplastics using FTIR and infrared microscopy
• Outline spectroscopic and chromatographic tests for pharmacopeial grade ethanol used in disinfection

Methodology and Instrumentation

• Compact FTIR located in an Ar‐filled glovebox (dew point ≤ –70 °C, O₂ ≤ 0.3 ppm) with ATR measurements and background subtraction
• IRTracer-100 rapid scan FTIR (Michelson interferometer) with MCT detector, mirror speeds ≥ 10 mm/s, dedicated software, external trigger, UV-GladiATR and SRM-8000 attachments
• Microplastic analysis by ATR-FTIR (Quest ATR accessory) for beach debris and IR microscope (AIM-9000) for biological and environmental filter samples, including mapping and library searches
• Ethanol quality tests using UV-1900i UV-Vis, IRSpirit FTIR, Nexis GC-2030, LCMS and GCMS with LabSolutions software

Key Results and Discussion

• Glovebox FTIR yielded spectra comparable to atmospheric measurements with suppressed water and oxygen absorption; careful cleaning required to avoid ATR crystal contamination
• Rapid scan captured UV-curing acrylate resin kinetics at 20 spectra/s, tracking vinyl peak decay around 1 635 and 810 cm⁻¹ in milliseconds
• Beach‐collected fishing net fragments were identified as PE/PP or PA composites; arctic cod plastics comprised PMMA with kaolin; deep‐sea shrimp plastics were PE with CaCO₃ and kaolin; mapping localized PP particles on PTFE filters
• Pharmacopeial ethanol met JP/USP/EP purity and identity criteria, confirming absence of impurities and compliance with disinfection standards

Benefits and Practical Applications

• In-glovebox FTIR enables in-situ characterization of air‐sensitive battery materials without exposure artifacts
• Rapid-scan IR supports real-time monitoring of fast chemical and polymerization processes
• FTIR and IR microscopy offer robust identification and spatial mapping of microplastics in environmental and biological matrices
• Spectroscopic and chromatographic methods assure the quality and safety of ethanol for medical and hygienic use

Future Trends and Applications

• Expansion of glovebox‐integrated spectroscopy for novel battery chemistries and solid electrolytes
• Further acceleration and automation of time-resolved FTIR with AI‐assisted data analysis and external synchronization
• Integration of FTIR/Raman multimodal imaging for nanoscale plastic particles and pollutant mapping
• High-throughput, multi-technique pharmaceutical solvent screening for regulatory compliance

Conclusion

Advances in FTIR spectroscopy and complementary analytical techniques are driving progress in energy storage materials, rapid reaction monitoring, environmental pollution assessment, and stringent pharmaceutical quality control.

References

1. N. B. Colthup, L. H. Daly, S. E. Wiberley: Introduction to Infrared and Raman Spectroscopy, Academic Press, 1990.
2. P. R. Griffiths, J. A. de Haseth: Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, Wiley, 2007.
3. T. Itoh: In Situ Raman Spectroscopic Analysis of Electrochemical Reactions, Electrochemistry 87(Sp), 2019.
4. M. Morita: Research of Solvation Structures by Raman Spectroscopy, Electrochemistry 81(12), 2013.
5. M. Eriksen et al.: PLOS ONE 9(12), 2014.
6. S. Kühn, A. Jamieson, M. Egelkraut-Holtus: Shimadzu News 2, 2018.