What absorbs at 912 cm⁻¹ in an FTIR spectrum?
A band near 912 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 912 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hydroxyl (O-H) | 8 | 8 | 1.0 |
| Metal hydroxyl | 6 | 6 | 1.0 |
| Silicon-oxygen (Si-O) | 4 | 4 | 1.0 |
| Methoxy (OCH3) | 3 | 3 | 1.0 |
| Methacrylate | 3 | 3 | 1.0 |
| C-O single bond | 3 | 3 | 1.0 |
| Acetate | 3 | 3 | 1.0 |
| Alkyl C-H | 3 | 2 | 1.0 |
| Phosphate (PO4) | 2 | 2 | 1.0 |
| Carbonyl (C=O) | 2 | 2 | 1.0 |
| Oxygen heterocycle | 2 | 2 | 1.0 |
| Silicon (Si) | 2 | 2 | 1.0 |
| Metal oxygen | 2 | 2 | 1.0 |
| Methyl | 1 | 1 | 1.0 |
| Alkene (C=C) | 1 | 1 | 1.0 |
| Siloxane (Si-O-Si) | 1 | 1 | 1.0 |
| Silicon hydride | 1 | 1 | 1.0 |
| Adsorbed carbon monoxide | 1 | 1 | 1.0 |
| Carboxyl (COOH) | 1 | 1 | 0.7 |
| Protein | 1 | 0 | 1.0 |
| Amide | 1 | 0 | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nanotubes | 912, 1735, 1630 | Hydroxyl (O-H), Methoxy (OCH3) | 1 |
| CaO | 912, 2909, 1839 | Hydroxyl (O-H), Silicon-oxygen (Si-O), Methoxy (OCH3) | 1 |
| polyvinylpyrrolidone | 912, 1660, 1700 | Hydroxyl (O-H) | 1 |
| polyvinyl alcohol | 912, 1141, 1640 | Hydroxyl (O-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 912 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
“Absorption bands cm-1 at 911.6, 912.5, 910.6, 912.2, 910.6 and 911.8 assigned to the Al-OH vibrations [40].”
Unique Halloysite Nanotubes–Polyvinyl Alcohol– Polyvinylpyrrolidone Composite Complemented with Physico–Chemical Characterization DOI: 10.3390/polym9060207 -
Hydroxyl (O-H) confidence 1.0
“The thickness of the thin film Accordingtotheliterature,thepeakslocatedatabout912,891and can be estimated based on the volume and concentration of the cm(cid:2)1 (p(-OH)), 801 are assigned to -OH out-of-plane bending solution,themolarmassan”
Gao 等 - 2018 - A kinetics study of the heterogeneous reaction of DOI: 10.1039/c8cp01914b -
Acetate confidence 1.0
“The relatively strong 2 cm-1 intensity bands at 1,472 and the bands at 912 belong to the two different elongation modes of C-O bonds”
Characterization of quicklime as raw material to hydrated lime: Effect of temperature on its characteristics DOI: 10.1063/1.5066668 -
Phosphate (PO4) confidence 1.0
“related to the frequency doubling and frequency combination These two peaks attributed to the P O vibration 912 of pyridine ring C H bending vibration out of plane located coupling.21 The C H bending or P O and C O vibration”
Li 等 - 2012 - Feasibility study of the detection of chlorpyrifos DOI: 10.1117/1.OE.51.10.103204 -
Metal hydroxyl confidence 1.0
“The peaks 4 cm-1 cm-1 at 912 and 914 that indicate the presence of Al-Al-OH deformation frequency were obtained for unmodified bentonite clay type and 2 M H 2SO modified bentonite clay, respectively.”
Preparation and characterization of adsorbents derived from bentonite and kaolin clays DOI: 10.1007/s13201-018-0827-2 -
Oxygen heterocycle confidence 1.0
“The cm-1, RIPT pure epoxy resin showed peaks at 912 and 856 in Fig 1, due to the oxirane group of epoxy cm-1 resin [14].”
Srivastava 等 - 2018 - Studies on the structural changes during curing of DOI: 10.1016/j.saa.2017.06.066 -
Adsorbed carbon monoxide confidence 1.0
“Carbon monoxide photooxidation rate (W) on TiO2 (1), ZnOI (2) and ZnOII University cm-1 for which O-O stretching band lies at 912 can react with”
Subbotina 和 Barsukov - 2020 - Direct evidence of the key role of UV-formed perox DOI: 10.1039/C9CP04728J. -
confidence 1.0
“The nal HNT phase (001) became thinner when compared to untreated HNT, as also reported peaks at approximately 1100-1020 cm-1 and 912 cm-1 are assigned to stretching vibrations by Panda et al.”
Selectively Etched Halloysite Nanotubes as Performance Booster of Epoxidized Natural Rubber Composites DOI: 10.3390/polym13203536
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