What absorbs at 2950 cm⁻¹ in an FTIR spectrum?
A band near 2950 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 2950 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alkyl C-H | 83 | 81 | 1.0 |
| Methyl | 11 | 11 | 1.0 |
| Hydroxyl (O-H) | 9 | 9 | 1.0 |
| Methacrylate | 9 | 9 | 1.0 |
| Acetate | 9 | 9 | 1.0 |
| Carbonyl (C=O) | 6 | 6 | 1.0 |
| Methoxy (OCH3) | 6 | 6 | 1.0 |
| Amide | 5 | 5 | 1.0 |
| N h | 4 | 4 | 1.0 |
| Hydrogen bond | 4 | 4 | 1.0 |
| Ketone | 4 | 4 | 1.0 |
| Ester | 4 | 4 | 1.0 |
| Carboxyl (COOH) | 4 | 4 | 1.0 |
| Aromatic ring | 3 | 3 | 1.0 |
| Secondary amine | 2 | 2 | 1.0 |
| C-O single bond | 2 | 2 | 1.0 |
| C c single bond | 2 | 2 | 1.0 |
| Lipid | 1 | 1 | 1.0 |
| Carbon dioxide | 1 | 1 | 1.0 |
| Water (H2O) | 1 | 1 | 1.0 |
| Ring structure | 1 | 1 | 1.0 |
| Nitrogen heterocycle | 1 | 1 | 1.0 |
| Alkene (C=C) | 1 | 1 | 0.8 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| cellulose | 2950, 1735, 1650 | Alkyl C-H, Methacrylate, Hydroxyl (O-H) | 1 |
| hemicellulose | 2950, 1730, 897 | Alkyl C-H, Methacrylate, Hydroxyl (O-H) | 1 |
| GO | 2950, 1720, 1182 | Methacrylate, Hydroxyl (O-H), Alkyl C-H | 1 |
| rGO | 2950, 2358, 2930 | Methacrylate, Hydroxyl (O-H), Alkyl C-H | 1 |
| PCL | 2950, 1751, 1724 | Alkyl C-H, Methacrylate, Hydroxyl (O-H) | 1 |
| carrageenan | 2950, 1156, 1100 | Methacrylate, Hydroxyl (O-H), Alkyl C-H | 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 2950 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
-
Alkyl C-H confidence 1.0
“cm(cid:1)1 The peak at 2950 is protons appear at CAH due to stretching vibration of alkyl groups.”
Synthesis of UV-curable difunctional silane monomer based on 3-methacryloxy propyl trimethoxysilane (3-MPTS) and its UV-curing characteristics and thermal stability DOI: 10.1002/app.31266 -
Alkyl C-H confidence 1.0
“From previous studies [21], lycopene was extracted from tomato waste using sunflower oil by ultrasound technique, and the C-H stretching mode and 2950 cm-1.”
The Effect of High-Intensity Ultrasound and Natural Oils on the Extraction and Antioxidant Activity of Lycopene from Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) Waste DOI: 10.3390/antiox11071404 -
Alkyl C-H confidence 1.0
“structures in the diterpenes give the strong stretching vibration modes C H of the methyl and methylene group, shown at 2869, 2950cm-1.”
Font 等 - 2007 - Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy as a suita DOI: 10.1016/j.aca.2007.07.021 -
Alkyl C-H confidence 1.0
“1, the strong bands in the vicinity of 2950~2800 of both spectra were 180 associated with the C-H (CH and CH 3) stretching vibrations which showed slightly 181 2 diverse among the lipids from different MBMs (Liu, Chen, Shi, Yang, & Han, 202”
Gao 等 - 2021 - Complementarity of FT-IR and Raman spectroscopies DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2020.128754 -
Alkyl C-H confidence 1.0
“phenylgroups O Siasymmetricstretchingvibrationin 1194 Si TOmode Hbond 1430 RingstretchingvibrationwithsomeC bendcouplingofphenylgroups (cid:2)(C H)vibrationsofC C Hbondsofphenyl 2950,3051,3072”
Jana 等 - 2008 - Non-hydrolytic sol-gel synthesis of epoxysilane-ba DOI: 10.1016/j.matchemphys.2008.06.070 -
Alkyl C-H confidence 1.0
“The FT-IR peak at 2950 cm-1 represents asymmetric C-H stretching of methyl (CH 3) groups whereas the peak at 1448 is attributed to bending of methylene groups and both of these peaks were of higher intensity in acute serum samples.”
Lymphatic filarial serum proteome profiling for identification and characterization of diagnostic biomarkers DOI: 10.1371/journal. -
Alkyl C-H confidence 1.0
“All the spectra examined consist of typical absorption peaks at about 3300 cm-l by (OH stretching), 3295 cm-' ( h C - H stretching), 2950 cm-l (C-H stretching), Downloaded 2255 cm-l (C%C-hC stretching), 2120 cm-l (C%C stretching), 1360-1300”
LANGER 和 MOSS - 1993 - FTIR STUDIES OF TRIMETHYLENE LINKED BIS-DIACETYLEN DOI: 10.1080/10587259308030157 -
Alkyl C-H confidence 1.0
“LLM confirmed rule peak-group candidate”
Maneewong 等 - 2013 - Evaluation of Gamma Radiation on NRPHBV Blends DOI: 10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMM.300-301.1325
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