Uses of Derivative Spectroscopy (5963-3940E)

Derivative spectroscopy uses first or higher derivatives of absorbance with respect to wavelength for qualitative analysis and for quantification. The concept of derivatizing spectral data was first introduced in the 1950s, when it was shown to have many advantages. However, the technique received little attention primarily because of the complexity of generating derivative spectra using early UV-Visible spectrophotometers. The introduction of microcomputers in the late 1970s made it generally practicable to use mathematical methods to generate derivative spectra quickly, easily and reproducibly. This significantly increased the use of the derivative technique.