What absorbs at 473 cm⁻¹ in an FTIR spectrum?
A band near 473 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 473 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phosphate (PO4) | 7 | 6 | 1.0 |
| Silicon (Si) | 5 | 5 | 1.0 |
| Metal oxygen | 4 | 4 | 1.0 |
| Phosphorus | 3 | 3 | 1.0 |
| Silicon-oxygen (Si-O) | 3 | 3 | 1.0 |
| Siloxane (Si-O-Si) | 3 | 3 | 1.0 |
| Alkene (C=C) | 2 | 2 | 1.0 |
| Hydroxyl (O-H) | 2 | 1 | 1.0 |
| N c o | 1 | 1 | 1.0 |
| S s | 1 | 1 | 1.0 |
| Water (H2O) | 1 | 1 | 1.0 |
| Alkyl C-H | 1 | 1 | 0.3 |
| C c single bond | 1 | 1 | 0.3 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| SiC | 473, 791, 805 | Silicon (Si) | 1 |
| copper oxide | 473, 624, 1686 | Metal oxygen | 1 |
| Hydroxyapatite | 473, 1620, 1639 | Phosphate (PO4), Phosphorus | 1 |
| copper oxide nanoparticles | 473, 624, 1317 | 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 473 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
-
confidence 1.0
“Cresol fast violet is cm-1 bands at 539 and 473 are related to Fe-O stretching widely used in different industry and hazardous to aquatic and bending vibration mode of α-Fe 2O respectively.”
Photo-catalytic activity of highly efficient binary Mn–Fe nano composite oxides for degradation of cresol fast violet: phase formation and band gap study DOI: 10.1007/s10854-017-7206-x -
confidence 1.0
“FTIR spectra revealed vibration of the CuO band at 473 cm(cid:2)1 was attributed to Cu 2O.”
Kayani 等 - 2015 - Characterization of Copper Oxide Nanoparticles Fab DOI: 10.1007/s11664-015-3867-5 -
Siloxane (Si-O-Si) confidence 1.0
“Rudolph Erasmus and 1102cm-1 Si-O-Si are assigned to The peaks appearing at 473 and Prof.”
Growth of silicon carbide nanorods from the hybrid of lignin and polysiloxane using sol-gel process and polymer blend technique DOI: 10.1016/j.matlet.2009.08.029 -
Silicon (Si) confidence 1.0
“The FTIR cm-1 cm-1, spectroscopy showed peaks at 473 and 1101 which were assigned to bending and stretching vibrations of the Si-O-Si bond, respectively, indicating that the modified silica sol was successfully introduced into the MG resin.”
Qin 等 - 2023 - Preparation and properties of silica solmelamine DOI: 10.1080/15685551.2022.2162280 -
Hydroxyl (O-H) confidence 1.0
“The band around cm-1 473 and 568 279 may be assigned the translational modes of hydroxyl groups mainly influenced”
Dependence of bonding interactions in Layered Double Hydroxides on metal cation chemistry DOI: 10.1016/j.molstruc.2016.06.045 -
S s confidence 1.0
“LLM confirmed rule peak-group candidate”
Thongtem 等 - 2010 - Characterization of copper sulfide nanostructured DOI: 10.1016/j.matlet.2009.10.021 -
Silicon (Si) confidence 1.0
“In Figure 5(B), the new peaks at 472.7 and cm-1 956.4 are assigned to the bending vibration of Si-O the Fe 3O 4@SiO microspheres keep the same morpho-”
Wang 等 - 2020 - Evaluation of Different Blood Circulating miRNAs f DOI: 10.1166/jnn.2020.17160 -
Phosphate (PO4) confidence 1.0
“473 cm -1 and the O-P-O bending mode peaks at 565 cm and 602 cm One O-H water 1643cm-1, bending vibration mode, with a wavelength of was detected in the FTIR spectrum [14].”
Alshemary 等 - 2023 - Microstructure analysis and thermal stability of M DOI: 10.15251/DJNB.2023.181.1
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