Development of a Planar Array Infrared Reflection Spectrograph for Reflection—Absorption Spectroscopy of Thin Films at Metal and Water Surfaces

Abstract

Planar array infrared (PA-IR) spectroscopy offers several advantages over Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) methods, including ultrafast speed (< 100 μs temporal resolution) and excellent sensitivity. However, obtaining spectra in the range of 1800 to 1000 cm−1 of films at the air–water interface remains difficult due to the poor IR reflectivity of water, the extremely low concentration of the thin film on the water subphase, and the interference of water bands. In this study, we report a new planar array infrared reflection spectrograph (PA-IRRS), which has several advantages over conventional approaches. This instrument can record sample and reference spectra simultaneously with an instrumental setup that is the same as that of a single-beam instrument by splitting the incident infrared beam into two sections on a plane mirror (H) or a water trough. With this design, the instrument can accommodate large infrared accessories, such as a water trough, without a loss of infrared beam intensity. Water bands can be subtracted to obtain a high-quality spectrum for poly(L-lactic acid) Langmuir film on the water subphase with a resolution of about 6 cm−1 in 10.8 s. Hence, this PA-IRRS system has great potential for investigating the time-resolved dynamics of a broad range of Langmuir films, such as cellular membranes or biopolymers, on the water subphase.