What absorbs at 853 cm⁻¹ in an FTIR spectrum?

Quick answer

A band near 853 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

Ranking reflects accumulated literature evidence, not a single fixed rule. Always confirm against your sample context.

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 853 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

• Acetate confidence 1.0

  “In ATMC the 1289cm-1 ringbreathingmodeisobservedat853cm-1 1351 and corresponds to the C O stretching mode.”

  Arjunan 等 - 2007 - Fourier transform infrared and Raman spectral assi DOI: 10.1016/j.saa.2006.09.044
• Metal oxygen confidence 1.0

  “The A cm-1 absorption band at 853 is attributed to metal oxygen stretching vibrations at tetrahedral site M due to Fe-O at A site.”

  Effect of Gd and Nb on Dielectric and Magnetic Transition temperature of BaTiO3- Li0.5Fe2.5O4 Composites DOI: 10.1016/j.physb.2019.02.035
• Amide confidence 1.0

  “Normal cervix tissues are characterized by strong, broad amide I, cm(cid:1)1 broader amide III and strong peaks at 853 and 938 which can be attributed to structural proteins such as collagen.”

  Krishna 等 - 2006 - Raman spectroscopy studies for diagnosis of cancer DOI: 10.1016/j.vibspec.2006.01.011
• Silicon (Si) confidence 1.0

  “1) of the Si-Hf-O-C gel crosslinked at 60 °C shows the absorption bands for cm-1 853cm-1 cm-1, [15], Si-CH at 1268 and [16], Si-C at 803 and these functionalities C-H at 1388 3”

  Shou 等 - 2012 - Fabrication of the SiOCHfO2 Ceramic Composites by DOI: 10.4028/www.scientific.net/KEM.512-515.912
• Alkene (C=C) confidence 1.0

  “The C=C has a stretching vibration at 1515cm-1 853cm-1 1376cm-1 and bending vibration at [45].”

  HPTLC and FTIR Fingerprinting of Olive Leaves Extracts and ATR-FTIR Characterisation of Major Flavonoids and Polyphenolics DOI: 10.3390/molecules26226892
• Acetate confidence 1.0

  “1057 Strong C-O stretching Primary alcohol 853, 769, 615 Strong”

  Evaluation of anticandidal activities and phytochemical examination of extracts prepared from DOI: 10.1186/s12906-022-03552-x
• confidence 1.0

  “9c), as well as a peak at 852.7 eV [50], PM-IRAS only displays the surface adsorbed species, characteristic of metallic Ni (not shown).”

  Surface Spectroscopy on UHV-Grown and Technological Ni–ZrO2 Reforming Catalysts: From UHV to Operando Conditions DOI: 10.1007/s11244-016-0678-8
• confidence 1.0

  “cm-1, silicon are also denoted by the vibrational band at 950 which is assigned to Si-O cm-1 cm-1 stretching [7,20,21] and the bands at 853 and 804 are assigned to Si-(CH 3) 2 skeletal vibration and Si-O-C stretching, both in the same range”

  The Origin and Physico-Chemical Properties of Some Unusual Earth Rock Fragments DOI: 10.3390/app12030983