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IR Spectrum Simulator

Predict the infrared absorption spectrum of any organic molecule from its structure. Every band is labelled by the bond responsible for it — fully interpretable, no black box.

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Quantum-chemistry-based predictions

Draw or import any molecule and the simulator predicts a transmittance spectrum with each absorption band labelled by the bond responsible for it. Predictions are based on a bond-environment database built from thousands of high-precision DFT calculations. Each bond is matched to the closest entry using graph-isomorphism on its local chemical environment — so every peak is traceable back to a specific part of your structure.

When to use it

  • Structure verification — confirm a synthesised compound contains the expected functional groups before running expensive experiments
  • Spectral assignment — match observed bands to specific bonds in a proposed structure, accelerating identification
  • Comparison with experimental data — overlay simulated and measured spectra to quickly spot discrepancies that hint at structural errors
  • Teaching — understand which bonds absorb at which frequencies and how the chemical environment influences band position and intensity

Example — Ethanol

For ethanol (CH₃CH₂OH), the simulator predicts the following characteristic absorptions:

  • ~3300–3500 cm⁻¹ — broad O–H stretch (hydrogen-bonded hydroxyl)
  • ~2900–3000 cm⁻¹ — C–H stretches (methyl and methylene)
  • ~1450 cm⁻¹ — C–H bending (CH₂ and CH₃)
  • ~1050–1100 cm⁻¹ — C–O stretch

Each band is annotated with the atom numbers of the contributing bond, so you can immediately relate a spectral feature to a specific part of your structure.