Structure Determination
Structural determination in chemistry is the process of determining the chemical structure of molecules. Practically, the end result of such process is the obtainment of the coordinates of the atoms in a molecule. The methods by which one can determine the structure of a molecule include spectroscopy, such as nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), infrared spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy, electron microscopy, and x-ray crystallography (x-ray diffraction). The last technique can produce three-dimensional models at atomic-scale resolution, as long as crystals are available, as x-ray diffraction needs numerous copies of the molecule being studied that must also be arranged in an organised way.
The following are common methods for determining the chemical structure (Structural elucidation) :
- X-ray diffraction
- Proton NMR
- Carbon-13 NMR
- Mass spectrometry
- Infrared spectroscopy
The following are common methods for determining the electronic structure:
- Electron-spin resonance
- Cyclic voltammetry
- Electron absorption spectroscopy
- X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy
Read more about this topic: Chemical Structure
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