Determining The Composition Of The Unknown Sample

IR spectra were collected for the given sample, SMH, as well as many provided sweet substance that could have been the composition of the unknown sample. Each spectrum was collected from 700 cm-1 to 1600 cm-1. The unknown sample IR is shown in Figure A. The goal of this experiment was to determine the composition of this unknown sample. To do this, we obtained IR spectra of Sugar Free Vermont maple syrup, honey, agave, Karo, Mrs. Butter-worth’s maple syrup, molasses, and pure maple syrup. These samples were then compared to the spectra of the unknown sample, or Figure A. The sample spectra are all included in the
Figure A. The IR spectra of the unknown sample. This can also be referred to as Spectra H. appendix section of this lab report and

The honey IR spectra is attached as Spectra D. Honey could be ruled out as a contributor to the unknown sample due to the 900 cm-1 and below region and because of the low point around 1050 cm-1. The portion of the IR that is below 900 cm-1 has a similar structure to that of the unknown sample, however, it is squished together, unlike that of the unknown. In addition, this region of the spectra has four dips, which is the same as the unknown; however, there are also small peaks in the IR that are absent from the sample spectra. To further eliminate honey from the being a part of the unknown substance, I examined the low peak around 1050 cm-1. In Spectra H, there are no “plateaus” on the left side of the low point; however, on Spectra D, there is a “plateau” at around 1060 cm-1. This and many other small discrepancies, including a large difference in the %T, allowed me to rule honey out as a possible substance in Spectra

Spectra G had a lot of similarities to Spectra H, which made me believe that it could be a part of the unknown sample. Just like I did with the molasses IR, I overlaid the two IRs and compared them. Both spectra had similar regions below 900 cm-1 and above 1200 cm-1. The region below 900 cm-1 linked almost identical to the same region of Spectra H. Spectra G has four different dips, that came up and removed less and less every time and these dips were in the same ratio as they were in Spectra H. There was a peak around 960 cm-1 that made me a little suspicious because it was not on Spectra H, however, the other sample might counteract that peak and produce the peak seen in Spectra H. The IR from agave seemed to confirm that agave was one of the two sweet samples used in our