What absorbs at 470 cm⁻¹ in an FTIR spectrum?
A band near 470 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 470 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Silicon-oxygen (Si-O) | 17 | 15 | 1.0 |
| Silicon (Si) | 15 | 14 | 1.0 |
| Siloxane (Si-O-Si) | 13 | 11 | 1.0 |
| Metal oxygen | 11 | 9 | 1.0 |
| Phosphate (PO4) | 3 | 3 | 1.0 |
| Alkyl C-H | 2 | 2 | 1.0 |
| N h | 2 | 2 | 1.0 |
| Silicate | 2 | 2 | 1.0 |
| Chlorine | 1 | 1 | 1.0 |
| Fatty acid | 1 | 1 | 1.0 |
| Alkene (C=C) | 1 | 1 | 1.0 |
| Lignin | 1 | 1 | 1.0 |
| Phosphorus | 1 | 1 | 1.0 |
| Water (H2O) | 1 | 1 | 1.0 |
| Carbonate | 1 | 1 | 1.0 |
| Hydroxyl (O-H) | 1 | 1 | 1.0 |
| Protein beta sheet | 1 | 1 | 1.0 |
| Aromatic ring | 1 | 1 | 1.0 |
| Silicon silicon | 1 | 1 | 1.0 |
| Methoxy (OCH3) | 1 | 1 | 1.0 |
| Methacrylate | 1 | 1 | 1.0 |
| C-O single bond | 1 | 1 | 1.0 |
| Acetate | 1 | 1 | 1.0 |
| Carbohydrate | 1 | 1 | 1.0 |
| Thiol | 1 | 1 | 1.0 |
| C-S single bond | 1 | 1 | 1.0 |
| Metalloid oxygen | 1 | 1 | 1.0 |
| C c single bond | 1 | 1 | 1.0 |
| Silicon hydride | 1 | 1 | 1.0 |
| Amide | 1 | 1 | 1.0 |
| Silicon nitrogen | 1 | 1 | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| ZnO | 470, 1400, 3430 | Metal oxygen | 1 |
| CuO | 470, 453, 1000 | Metal oxygen | 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 470 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
-
Silicon (Si) confidence 1.0
“cm-1 The absorption bands centered at around 470, 820, 1170, 2180, and 3300 can be assigned to the Si-N symmetric stretching, Si-N asymmetric stretching, N-H bending, Si-H stretching, and NH stretching modes, respectively.”
Benyahia 等 - 2017 - Evolution of Optical and Structural Properties of DOI: 10.4028/www.scientific.net/JNanoR.49.163 -
C c single bond confidence 1.0
“The stage starting from 75 cm(cid:1)1 (cid:3)Cto150(cid:3)Cwithamaximumpeakat114(cid:3)Cshowedaninitialmassloss peaks in 470, 1000, 1800, 2630, 3250 correspond respectively to thestretchingvibrationof(C-C(¼O)-C),thestretchingvibrationof(C-H”
A comparison of chitosan properties after extraction from shrimp shells by diluted and concentrated acids DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e03486 -
confidence 1.0
“(2019), the standard spectra of bentonbands in the spectra since marked at 1033 cm-1, cm-1, cm-1, 532 910 1033 denoted as the Si-O-Si vibrations (Taher et al., ite minerals are 470 cm-1, cm-1, cm-1,”
Hakim 等 - 2023 - Ammonium-Assisted Intercalation of Java Bentonite DOI: 10.12911/22998993/156665 -
Metalloid oxygen confidence 1.0
“LLM confirmed rule peak-group candidate”
Hamzah 等 - 2012 - Chemical Durability of Yb doped Lead Tellurite Gla DOI: 10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMR.501.81 -
Silicate confidence 1.0
“The second silicate bands are 4 cm-1 in C-S-H broadly characterized as O-Si-O deformation or bending modes, which occur near 451 470cm-1 cm-1 667cm-1 and in C-A-S-H and the band 663 or is due to Si-O-Si bending vibrations.”
He 等 - 2011 - Morphology and Structure of Aluminum Substituted C DOI: 10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMR.287-290.1193 -
confidence 1.0
“IR spectra from the studied phosphate glasses: 5 Zn (Glass) 3.9 3.6 3.4 cm-1 (i) The peak at 470 can be assigned to 5 Zn (comp) 5.1”
Helmy 等 - 2021 - Preparation and Characterization of some Composite DOI: 10.21608/EJCHEM.2021.80482.3986 -
Carbohydrate confidence 1.0
“polysaccharides content of OL, PU and PTR is lower than that of LR This peak was correlated with five other autopeaks 470cm(cid:3)1 cm(cid:3)1, cm(cid:3)1, cm(cid:3)1, cm(cid:3)1, and PC.”
Differential identification of mushrooms sclerotia by IR macro-fingerprint method DOI: 10.1016/j.saa.2015.07.054 -
Acetate confidence 1.0
“C-O acids [38], stretching ≅ C-O 470+760;”
FTIR photoacoustic spectroscopy for identification and assessment of soil components_ Chernozems and their size fractions DOI: 10.1016/j.pacs.2020.100162
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 literature-backed analysis — in seconds.