A Low-Cost Reflectance FT-IR Microscope

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Abstract
A Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) microscope combines microscopy with infrared (IR) spectroscopic molecular characterization. IR microspectroscopy presents a well-established and useful analytical tool, though at relatively high cost. A low-cost reflectance FT-IR microscope has been developed. The configuration consists of a diffuse reflectance cell, extended to include a diaphragm, a monocular, and an x-y-z stage in combination with an FT-IR spectrometer. The experimental setup is presented in detail. The assembly attains a spot size of 0.3 mm and detection limits in the nanogram range. The potentialities and applications of the low-cost reflectance FT-IR microscope are demonstrated by various examples in the field of polymeric material and product characterization.