What absorbs at 3438 cm⁻¹ in an FTIR spectrum?
A band near 3438 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 5 cited sources
Possible functional-group assignments
| Functional group | Supporting facts | Cited sources | Top confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hydroxyl (O-H) | 4 | 3 | 1.0 |
| N h | 1 | 1 | 1.0 |
| Alkyl C-H | 1 | 1 | 0.9 |
Ranking reflects accumulated literature evidence, not a single authoritative rule. Always confirm against your sample context.
Literature behind these assignments
-
Hydroxyl (O-H) confidence 1.0
“Overlapped absorption of -OH and -NH groups”
Handayani 等 - 2018 - Synthesis and Characterization of Chitosan-p-t-But DOI: 10.1088/1757-899X/333/1/012011 -
Hydroxyl (O-H) confidence 0.9
“Peak at 3438.3 cm-1 assigned to -OH stretching.”
Sahudin 等 - 2022 - Enhancement of Skin Permeation and Penetration of DOI: 10.3390/cosmetics9060114 -
Alkyl C-H confidence 0.9
“Explicit assignment in text”
Vanitha 等 - 2021 - Effect of Sr2+ Ion-Substituted Nickel Ferrite Nano DOI: 10.1007/s10948-020-05777-8 -
Hydroxyl (O-H) confidence 0.9
“New bands at 3438 (ν O-H).”
Gangoiti 和 Peruzzo - 2020 - Cellulose nanocrystal reinforced acylglycerol-base DOI: 10.3144/expresspolymlett.2020.52 -
confidence 0.8
“Text: 'absorption peak at 3438 which is the superposition of symmetric and asymmetric stretching vibrations'”
Li 等 - 2022 - Grafting nanocellulose with diethylenetriaminepent DOI: 10.1007/s10570-021-04390-9
Have a spectrum with this band?
Upload your FTIR spectrum and get a full interpretation report — peak assignments with literature citations, library matches, and a confidence-rated evidence chain — in seconds.
Interpret my spectrum