FOURIER-TRANSFORM RAMAN-SPECTROSCOPY OF BRIGHTLY COLORED COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE DYESTUFFS AND PIGMENTS

Fourier transform (FT) Raman spectroscopy is shown to be a very powerful and valuable technique for the analysis of brightly colored dyestuffs and pigments. The use of a near-infrared Nd: YAG laser, as opposed to visible lasers used in conventional Raman instrumentation, virtually eliminates fluorescence from the dye, thus allowing high-quality Raman spectra to be collected. The small amount of sample required and the limited sample preparation involved also make FT Raman spectroscopy attractive when the amount of sample available is limited or when a rapid, reliable analysis is needed. FT Raman spectra along with the complementary FT-IR spectra of various commercially available dyestuffs and pigments are presented.