Infrared and Raman Spectroscopy of Minerals and Inorganic Materials

Infrared (IR) and Raman spectroscopy have become mainstream techniques in mineralogy and inorganic chemistry. These vibrational spectroscopic techniques allow the identification of not only different materials based on band positions in the low wavenumber region, but also the anionic groups. Recently these methods have entered the field of gemology, where it is used not only to identify gemstones, but also to obtain information about, for example, synthetic versus natural minerals (eg, diamond — cubic zirconia, synthetic/natural turquoise), origin, etc. Mineral pigments in paintings and old manuscripts can also be non-destructively identified by IR and Raman microscopy, fiber-optics, and attenuated total reflection IR spectroscopy.