Terahertz Time Domain Spectroscopy for the Identification of Two Cellulosic Fibers with Similar Chemical Composition

The distinct terahertz spectra of ramie and bamboo fibers were obtained by means of terahertz time-domain spectroscopy. Numerical simulation for glucose based on density functional theory has been performed to interpret the observed THz features theoretically. The results indicate that the intramolecular motions do make partial contribution to experimental features of cellulosic fibers, but most of the features are attributed to intermolecular modes. The investigation suggests that THz spectroscopy is a promising candidate for distinguishing bamboo and ramie fibers, and this will open new prospect to identify textile fibers especially those with similar chemical composition.