Fourier-transform infrared imaging using a rapid-scan spectrometer

We present a major improvement to the Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) imaging technique brought about by replacement of the commonly used step-scan spectrometer with a rapid-scanning spectrometer. This advancement dramatically decreases the time required for data collection without decreasing the data quality. With this new instrumental setup, an imaging data set consisting of 64 X 64 spectra with a 4-cm(-1) spectral resolution over a 1360-cm(-1) spectral range can be collected in 34 s. As a practical example, we demonstrate what we believe to be the first application of FTIR imaging to the screening of adsorbates on the elements of a combinatorial library containing different supported catalyst materials in the same reactant feed. (C) 1999 Optical Society of America OCIS codes: 300.6340, 110.3080.