Hydrogen bond interaction in bulk and confined liquid polymers studied by FT-IR and Raman spectroscopy

We employed infrared (IR) absorption and Raman scattering to investigate the vibrational dynamics of ethylene glycol (EG) and its homologous systems, EG monomethylether and EG dimethylether, in bulk and confined into 25 Angstrom pores of a sol-gel porous glass. The measurements, performed in the O-H stretching region at room temperature, show the main role played by the H-bond in the structural environments of these liquids, discussed on the basis of current theories for associated systems. The goal is to study the intramolecular H-bond imposed band and to assign the various sub-bands in terms of the different aggregates present, clarifying the dynamical response of these associated systems in this very interesting region. Experimental data in the bulk state compared with those in the confined one give a clear indication of the influence of chemical and physical traps present in the glass matrix. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.