Answer to Question #116508 in Physics for Nimra kanwal

Question

How to interpret Raman spectrum data?

Answer 1

The common practice to plotting Raman spectra is intensity, or "Count Rate", on the y-axis and the frequency of the "Raman Shift" along the x-axis.

Raman shift is the difference in frequency between the laser light and the scattered light. This difference is unrelated to laser's wavelength and expressed as wavenumbers.

Count Rate is the quantity of events the spectrometer detects for the particular Raman shift per second and is relative to the strength of light detected.

One method of interpreting Raman spectra is the recognition of molecular functional groups, which are distinct subunits of a molecule. The vibrations of functional groups appear in Raman spectra at distinctive Raman shifts. These characteristic shifts allow for an unknown compound to be linked to a known class of substances.