enquiries.htm

index.htm_txt_mastonw_cmp.gif (7500 bytes)

DEAR READERS

This email arrived last month from France..

I am looking for information about the combined TG / FTIR technique :
- conditions of analysis
- what are the main uses of this technique
I will be very gratefull if you may let me know this kind of information.

Pascale Mareri, L'OREAL, Département Recherche et Compatibilité Matériaux
Email: pmareri@dgt.loreal.com

Someone amongst our readership must be able to help. Please contact Pascale directly, but copy the IJVS Editorial Office.

Our publication of spectra as .pdf files in the last edition spurred a response from Robert Lancashire from The University of the West Indies.....

The new section with spectra is a welcome sign of things to come and hopefully it can evolve into a repository of spectra? I am very disappointed however that instead of a "useful" format like JCAMP-DX or GRAMS or PE SPECTRA files you have chosen PDF even after publishing our article on using JCAMP-DX files!! [REF: A. Davies & R. Lancashire, Int. J. Vib. Spect., [www.ijvs.com] 1, 4, 57-67 (1997)]

Was this a problem of authors not wanting their spectra published, since YES the spectra as PDF, like the earlier BITMAPs, are both "DIGITAL" but equally useless for further analysis. Am I missing something and have you included a method of recovering the actual spectral data back from the PDF??

The size of the files is probably double what they would have been if you had used JCAMP-DX.

I hope there is an opportunity for this to develop into a source of actual data files rather than pictures (either BITMAP or PDF)

Hmmm...The question of spectra and whether or not to publish raw digital data in IJVS has been raised many times before and the answer has always been that authors are not happy to have their work published in a format that allows others to download spectrum data and manipulate it themselves. Quite right too in my mind - its a bit much to spend valuable time extracting information and then just hand it over to the next man who then takes it to progress his own work. These spectra should just be produced as quality reference data, which means simply that - you can clearly see the information you should be getting when running the spectra, but do it yourself - it's all great experience!

All .pdf files can be read using Adobe Reader which is available FREE-OF CHARGE on the web at www. adobe.com.

So the IJVS policy is to publish .pdf spectra where the author gives his/her permission and all you readers can then download the .pdfs and store on your harddrive or disk and use for reference. In fact we still have to publish approx 70 spectra kindly submitted by Geoff Dent from Avecia and will be publishing them as .pdf files very shortly (there has been a delay because of Robert's question - apologies).

We have received the following from James Kelley in Jackson Mississippi.

I am looking for Spectral Characteristics of Lead or lead compounds. Could
you give me some insite of were I might find the information.

James Kelley, Environmental Science Graduate Student jkelley@ccaix.jsums.edu

Someone out there must be able to help I'm sure. Nakamoto's book contains some information, but perhaps someone knows of a decent review article. If someone responds please copy the IJVS office.

An enquiry came in via email recently from Rolando Sevilla....

In behalf of my colleague, Ms. Arabella U. Magahis (QC Eng'r), who is asking for my help in procuring the best book possible that she can use as reference in attaining results from our FT-IR machine manufactured by JEOL. In searching through your bookshelf, I found four (4) books that I think would fit her need, namely:
1. Raman & Infrared Atlas of Organic Compounds, B. Schrader, V.C.H. 2nd Ed.1989,
2. A Guide to the Complete Interpretation of Infrared Spectra of Organic Structures, N. P.Roeges, J. Wiley, 1994,
3. Handbook of Fourier Transform Raman and Infrared Spectra of Polymers, A. H. Kuptsov, G. N. Zhizhin, Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1998 and
4. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, Griffiths & Haseth, New York: Wiley, 1986

In this regard, I would like to ask your kind office if you can provide her with additional informations like overview of the books, how and where can she order, and how much are each book. Kindly advise if these books are really applicable referrence in her FT-IR analysis and if not, your expert advise in this field would be highly appreciated. Ms. Magahis e-mail address is: arabel@ncop.nec.co.jp

I presume that Ms Magahis wants information on sampling techniques and interpretation. The basic sampling methods are thin films, K Br discs and ATR using a diamond ATR system. These will enable her to get excellent spectra of liquids and solids alike. Could I suggest she use IJVS? KBr disc manufacture was discussed in detail in Ed1 of Vol 1, thin films of liquids are made by sandwiching liquids between KBr flats - see the last edition of IJVS for details on the discs (Vol4, Ed 1). Diamond ATR is becoming the workhorse routine technique - see Dave Coombs article in Vol 2 Ed 2.

Books - the answer has to be your local science library because several of the books you mention are very expensive and/or out of print.

We are publishing this correspondence in the hope that someone can help. If anyoine can offer suggestions to Rolando please copy the IJVS office.

Finally, a request from Martine Van den Abbeele from the University of Ghent in Belgium....

We are looking for certain Special Editions of Spectrochimica Acta. Can we
buy them ? Please inform us about costs and delivery times ! We are interested in the following issues :
Vol. 46A, No. 2, 121-338, 1990; Vol. 47A, No. 9/10, 1133-1494, 1991; Vol. 49A, No. 5/6, 609-890, 1993; Vol. 50A, No. 11, 1811-2036, 1994; Vol. 51A, No. 12, 1975-2210, 1995 and Vol. 53A, No. 1, 1-128, 1997.

The special editions of Spectrochimica Acta covered the development and applications of F-T Raman between 1990 and 1997. I was Editor and I think they still remain the best source available on the technique. I think back-issues are still available from the publishers - Pergamon Press now part of Elsevier, but they may be expensive.

I suggest you contact the current UK Editor Prof. Sid Kettle, University of
East Anglia NR4 7TJ, UK. Phone +44 (0)1263 731741 or fax +44(0)1263 731721.