Using Water as an Infrared Solvent

To many infrared spectroscopists it may sound foolish to talk about using water as an infrared solvent. However, as early as 1949, R. C. Gore (1) described the very excellent results he obtained when using water and deuterium oxide as infrared solvents. Since then, little attention has been paid to this fact. Some spectroscopists, confronted with an infrared analysis of a water solution, will say: Impossible! Water dissolves the rock salt cell windows and is so strongly absorbing in the region from 2μ to 15μ that it obscures most of the absorption bands of any material dissolved in it. In spite of this, an attempt will be made to indicate the useful information that can be obtained from water solution spectra.