- Identification and structure determination of organic and inorganic materials

- Quantitative determination of molecular components in mixtures

- Identification of molecular species absorbed on surfaces

- Identification of chromatographic effluents

- Determination of molecular orientation

- Determination of molecular conformation and stereochemistry

- Identification of chemical reaction species; reaction kinetics

- Quantitative determination of nontrace components in complex matrices

- Determination of molecular orientation in stretched polymer films

- Identification of flavor and aroma components

- Determination of molecular structure and orientation of thin films deposited on metal substrates (oxidation and corrosion products, soils, adsorbed surfactants, and so on)

- Depth profiling of solid samples (granules, powders, fibers, and so on)

- Characterization and identification of different phases in solids or liquids

- Form: Almost any solid, liquid, or gas sample

- Size (minimum): Solids-10 ng if it can be ground in a transparent matrix, such as potassium bromide; 10-m diameter for a single particle, 1 to ng if soluble in a volatile solvent (methanol, methylene chloride, chloroform, and so on). Flat metal surfaces-1 by 1 cm (0.4 by 0.4 inc.) or larger. Liquids-10 L if neat, considerably less if soluble in a transparent solvent. Gases-1 to 10 ng

- Preparation: Minimal or none; may have to grind in a potassium bromide matrix or dissolve in a volatile or infrared-transparent solvent

- Little elemental information

- Molecule must exhibit a change in dipole moment in one of its vibrational modes upon exposure to infrared radiation

- Background solvent or matrix must be relatively transparent in the spectral region of interest

- 1 to 10 min per sample

- Raman spectroscopy: Complementary molecular vibrational information

- X-ray fluorescence: Elemental information on bulk samples

- X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy: Elemental information on adsorbed species

- High-resolution electron energy loss spectroscopy: Molecular vibrational surface information

- Mass spectrometry: Molecular weight information

- Nuclear magnetic resonance: Additional molecular structure information