What absorbs at 1517 cm⁻¹ in an FTIR spectrum?

Quick answer

A band near 1517 cm⁻¹ is usually interpreted by checking which functional groups repeatedly co-occur there in the literature, then confirming at least one or two additional peaks in the same sample. This page ranks those assignments by accumulated evidence rather than by a single fixed textbook rule.

Possible functional-group assignments

Ranking reflects accumulated literature evidence, not a single fixed rule. Always confirm against your sample context.

Possible materials

Materials are shown only when the same literature pool supports this band and at least one additional characteristic peak.

Spectrum logic

This band becomes meaningful only when read with its neighboring peaks. In practice, analysts first look at the assignments above, then check whether the same sample also shows other peaks expected for the same structural motif. A lone band near 1517 cm⁻¹ is usually not enough for material identification by itself.

Real-world usage

This type of query is common in polymer identification, unknown plastic screening, QC troubleshooting, recycled-material verification, and literature-backed peak assignment review.

Common mistakes

• Treating one isolated band as proof of a material without checking at least one or two supporting peaks.
• Ignoring overlap: multiple functional groups can contribute near the same wavenumber.
• Skipping validation when additives, blends, oxidation, or contamination may distort the spectrum.

Verification advice

When ambiguity remains, validate the hypothesis with DSC, GC-MS, or TGA, especially for blends, degraded samples, and filled polymers.

Literature behind these assignments

• Aromatic ring confidence 1.0

  “[20] reported that phenolic acid bands including ferulic acid are divided primarily into an absorption band, which showed strong cm-1, aromatic ring vibration at 1517 and secondary absorption bands 1690, 1620 and”

  Biochemical and Structural Characterization of Ferulated Arabinoxylans Extracted from Nixtamalized and Non-Nixtamalized Maize Bran DOI: 10.3390/foods11213374
• Amide confidence 1.0

  “tivearomaticpeaks.Thisisespeciallyimportantinthecaseofthetyrocm-1 (Barth and Zscherp, 2002) and sine peak, which occurs at 1517 1.5 1.5 height OH therefore cannot be separated out as easily as the amide II band.”

  Shedding light on sporopollenin chemistry, with reference to UV reconstructions DOI: 10.1016/j.revpalbo.2016.11.014
• Water (H2O) confidence 1.0

  “The broad peak at 1517 cm-1 indicates the AC adsorption of water on the coated samples.”

  Novel synthesis of bioactive hydroxyapatite/f-multiwalled carbon nanotube composite coating on 316L SS implant for substantial corrosion resistance and antibacterial activity DOI: 10.1016/j.jallcom.2018.10.341
• Alkyl C-H confidence 1.0

  “Peaks seemingly due to O-H stretch appeared at 3460 cm-1, cm-1, C-H stretch (aromatic) at 2915 C=O stretch due to vinyl acetate at 1730 C=O at 1727 cm-1, 1610 cm-1, 778 cm-1, 1517 cm-1, and 756 cm-1 corresponds to crystalline form”

  How to Improve Solubility and Dissolution of Irbesartan by Fabricating Ternary Solid Dispersions: Optimization and In-Vitro Characterization DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics14112264
• S eq o confidence 1.0

  “It was found that the pal peaks belonging to measure functional group such smallest particle size was observed in batch P1 as com1064cm-1 1517cm-1 as (S=O stretching), (N-H stretchpared to other formulations.”

  Giri 等 - 2019 - Hydrochlorothiazide Nanocrystals Stabilization by DOI: 10.5530/ijper.53.3.81
• N-O bond confidence 1.0

  “Qn-AgNPs was not as strong as Qn in general, and characteristic peaks were observed cm-1, cm-1, cm-1), cm-1), in C=C stretching (1653 1599 815 N-O stretching (1517 and cm-1) C-O stretching (1163 related to the Qn which might exist on the su”

  Synthesis of Biomolecule Functionalized Biocompatible Silver Nanoparticles for Antioxidant and Antibacterial Applications DOI: 10.3390/coatings12091292
• Amino acid confidence 1.0

  “Interestingly, the Tyrosine band at ~1517”

  Biomacromolecular Profile in Human Primary Retinal Pigment Epithelial Cells—A Study of Oxidative Stress and Autophagy by Synchrotron-Based FTIR Microspectroscopy DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines11020300
• N h confidence 1.0

  “1571 1571 1573 Proteins CH3 and CH2 deformations 1472 1474 1474 1472 Lipid Proteins NH bend + C-N stretch Amide residues 1517 1515 1515 1515 Tyrosine Proteins Colored shapes represent the assigned biomolecules, which can be correlated with”

  Comprehensive Evaluation of PAXgene Fixation on Oral Cancer Tissues Using Routine Histology, Immunohistochemistry, and FTIR Microspectroscopy DOI: 10.3390/biom11060889