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Troubleshooting

Problem: My spectrum is too weak (poor signal-to-noise ratio).

• your sample is likely too dilute. Try
   
  1. thin film - increasing the thickness of the film by adding more liquid to the salt plate
  2. KBr disk - increasing the amount of solid powder that is mixed in with the KBr (you will have to press a new disk)
  3. cast film - adding more solid to the salt plate by letting more solution evaporate on the surface
  4. Nujol mull - if the Nujol aliphatic peaks are strong but the sample peaks are weak, increase the amount of powder in the mull; if the spectrum appears as above, you need more of the mull (combination of Nujol oil and solid sample) between the IR plates
  5. solution - increasing the concentration of the solution (i.e., add more sample)

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Last modified: Monday, February 28, 2011
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