COLLECTION OF ROA SPECTRA USING LINEAR INCIDENT POLARIZATION

Author Institution: Department of Chemistry, Syracuse UniversityThe symmetry involved in a Raman optical activity (ROA) experiment allows reversal of the traditional experimental geometry. An ROA spectrum can be obtained by focusing linearly polarized incident radiation on the sample and collecting the Raman scattered left and right circularly polarized light, rather than comparing the Raman scattering intensities for left and right circularly polarized incident radiation. A simple apparatus has been built at Syracuse University which allows collection of Raman scattered circularly polarized light by means of a zero order quarter wave plate, a linear polarizer, a spectrograph and a multichannel detector. Preliminary results for the depolarized ROA of (+)- and (-)--pinene will be presented. Advantages of this ROA apparatus, which include stability, throughput, and reproducibility, will be discussed. Problems encountered with this system and efforts to overcome them will also be addressed