Infrared Spectroscopy of Polymers, XI: Introduction to Organic Nitrogen Polymers

Until now, our discussion of polymers has been limited to functional groups containing carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. In this column, we begin covering polymers that have functional groups containing nitrogen as well. We review the structures and bonding characteristics of the nitrogen atom, and then begin our examination of the spectra of organic nitrogen polymers with a very important class of polymers: polyamides.