What absorbs at 1749 cm⁻¹ in an FTIR spectrum?
A band near 1749 cm⁻¹ can point to several functional groups. Below are the most likely assignments, ranked by how much published evidence supports each — every one traceable to literature (DOI) and cross-validated against our 130,000+ reference spectra and knowledge graph.
Backed by 8 cited sources
Quick answer
A band near 1749 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
| Functional group | Supporting facts | Cited sources | Top confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carbonyl (C=O) | 11 | 10 | 1.0 |
| Carboxyl (COOH) | 9 | 9 | 1.0 |
| Methacrylate | 7 | 7 | 1.0 |
| Ester | 7 | 7 | 1.0 |
| Acetate | 7 | 7 | 1.0 |
| Amide | 6 | 6 | 1.0 |
| Ketone | 5 | 5 | 1.0 |
| Methoxy (OCH3) | 2 | 2 | 1.0 |
| C-O single bond | 2 | 2 | 1.0 |
| Lignin | 1 | 1 | 1.0 |
| Water (H2O) | 1 | 1 | 1.0 |
| Lipid | 1 | 1 | 1.0 |
| Hydroxyl (O-H) | 1 | 1 | 1.0 |
| Alkene (C=C) | 1 | 1 | 1.0 |
| N h | 1 | 1 | 1.0 |
| Phospholipid | 1 | 1 | 1.0 |
| Fatty acid | 1 | 1 | 1.0 |
| Alkyl C-H | 1 | 0 | 1.0 |
Ranking reflects accumulated literature evidence, not a single fixed rule. Always confirm against your sample context.
Possible materials
| Material | Supporting peaks | Overlapping groups | Cited sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| CS | 1749, 1645, 1720 | Methacrylate, Carboxyl (COOH) | 1 |
| polyimide | 1749, 1720, 1778 | Carbonyl (C=O), Methacrylate, Carboxyl (COOH) | 1 |
| silver nanoparticles | 1749, 1636, 1631 | Methacrylate | 1 |
| gold nanoparticles | 1749, 1638, 3252 | Methacrylate, Carbonyl (C=O) | 1 |
| silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) | 1749, 1100, 1662 | Methacrylate, Carbonyl (C=O), Carboxyl (COOH) | 1 |
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 1749 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
-
Fatty acid confidence 1.0
“(2004), this peak represents 1749cm(cid:1)1, impurities such as wax and pectin which contains carwhich indicates free fatty acids and cutin (COO(cid:1) esterified boxylate present in wax and free and carboxylic groups ) functional groups an”
Dave 等 - 2014 - The removal of impurities from gray cotton fabric DOI: 10.1080/00405000.2013.827900 -
Acetate confidence 1.0
“The FTIR spectroscopy study of neat PLA having various functional groups C=O al cm-1), cm-1), stretching vibrations (~ 1749 asymmetric C-O-C stretching (1180 symmetric and cm-1), cm-1), asymmetric -CH vibrations (1128 and 1042 C-OH side gro”
Ghosh 等 - 2020 - Blown films fabrication of poly lactic acid based DOI: 10.1016/j.mtcomm.2019.100737 -
Carboxyl (COOH) confidence 1.0
“N Therefore, the peak at 1749cm-' may be caused by the carboxylic acids which form hydrogen bonded complexes with adjacent oxygen products by”
Ha 等 - 1998 - Polarized Infrared Spectroscopic Studies of Polari DOI: 10.1080/10587259808025380 -
Carboxyl (COOH) confidence 1.0
“LLM confirmed rule peak-group candidate”
Okuno 等 - 2003 - FTIR detection of protonationdeprotonation of key DOI: 10.1021/ja021302z -
confidence 1.0
“Vibration assigned to C=O”
Thabede 等 - 2021 - Magnetite Functionalized Nigella Sativa Seeds for DOI: 10.1155/2021/6655227 -
Ester confidence 1.0
“The two major peaks at 1749 and 1704 were assigned to saturated ester C=O stretching that originated from cholesterol esters or phospholipids part of KS.”
Adnan 等 - 2022 - Microwave-Assisted Synchronous Nanogold Synthesis DOI: 10.3390/ph15020111 -
confidence 1.0
“specific N-H cell-cycle stretch 1749.29 for Fucoxanthin is reported to induce G1 arrest (nitro amides), C-C (amides);”
Al-Zahrani 等 - 2021 - Green-synthesized silver nanoparticles with aqueou DOI: 10.1515/gps-2021-0067 -
Acetate confidence 1.0
“It showed a very cm-1, sharp absorption band at 1748.81 which was assigned to a highly agglomerated except for CC-AgNPs, which displayed a C=O stretch, while there was a C=C functional group at a wave al.48 scattered morphology (Figure 1).”
Bello 等 - 2020 - Phytobiological-facilitated Production of Silver N DOI: 10.4274/tjps.galenos.2019.10846
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